Rice Fragrance

Lin Chuan felt for Old Zhou's breath.

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Mm, he was warm.

Thank goodness, he was still alive!

Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. He'd listened to one of Lin Chuan's songs and nearly died on the spot.

That wouldn't have sounded too good if word got out.

Even if it was because a movie was too scary and he'd been frightened to death?

"Old Zhou, are you okay?"

Lin Chuan patted Old Zhou on the shoulder.

"I-I'm fine~"

Old Zhou took a deep breath, remembering how he'd felt after listening to Love Confession Balloon last time.

He'd practically wanted to write Lin Chuan a five-hundred-word essay right then and there.

Seeing that Old Zhou had recovered, Lin Chuan immediately walked out of the recording studio.

"Okay, just send me the music once it's ready."

Old Zhou didn't have time to stop him. Lin Chuan had already left the recording studio.

Sitting on the bus, Lin Chuan remembered Old Zhou's pose, like an old monk who'd passed away while meditating.

Lin Chuan smiled.

He had to admit, music possessed a spiritual power that could strike straight to the heart.

It was like how, back on Earth in the Parallel Universe of his previous life, countless people had listened to a song called "The You I Once Knew" and promptly quit their jobs to travel.

That was right—the line, "I once dreamed of taking my sword and roaming the world, to see its splendor~" really did pack that much of a punch.

The song "Green Flower in the Army" was even more incredible.

It played in the morning, and by the afternoon people were climbing over the wall to go home.

Old Zhou's current state was understandable.

Still, Lin Chuan hoped Old Zhou wouldn't let it affect his life as it was now.

After all, life wasn't just about poetry and far-off places; there were also the day-to-day struggles right in front of you.

Living well in the present mattered more than anything.

Perhaps traveling somewhere far away could supposedly cleanse the soul, but it could also empty your wallet.

That was also why Lin Chuan had chosen Rice Fragrance as the interlude for Happy Family.

He hoped the song could offer a little spiritual support to those who felt lost.

So they wouldn't lose their way as they moved forward.

A day later, Old Zhou sent Lin Chuan the finished music.

Lin Chuan also discussed the release date and screening schedule with the cinemas.

Mm, the number of screenings this time wasn't bad: 17.8%.

That was nearly double the number Balloon had received last time.

As for the release date, Lin Chuan chose the day before National Day.

Director Hou had originally suggested releasing Happy Family during the Lunar New Year holiday, but Lin Chuan turned him down.

Happy Family had a light comedy style.

But its protagonist was despondent from the very beginning and wanted to kill himself.

After being rescued, he discovered he could see ghosts. As he laughed and bickered with them, he gradually healed.

If it came out during the Lunar New Year holiday, it might put the audience in a bad mood.

Just imagine: it was the New Year, and after finally getting a long holiday, you reunited with your family.

You went to the cinema, hoping to watch a cheerful movie and start the coming year in a good mood.

But instead, you ended up watching Happy Family.

Lin Chuan thought Happy Family had a wonderful ending.

But he was sure there would be people like Teacher Xu Xiu who'd watch it and end up in floods of tears.

Releasing it the day before National Day, on September 30, avoided that problem.

Many people knew that October 1 was National Day, marking the day an ancient nation had finally stood tall.

But only some knew that September 30 was our country's Martyrs' Day.

It was a day to commemorate those who had sacrificed their lives for the nation.

Lin Chuan had once seen a joke.

Many people were afraid of ghosts. They'd be scared out of their wits in a morgue or at a lonely grave in the wilderness.

They could feel the icy air hanging over those places.

But at a martyrs' cemetery, the sun always seemed to shine. You could even see children flying kites.

Lin Chuan also noticed that another horror movie was scheduled to release alongside Happy Family.

It was called The House That Never Dies. Its star was the princess Ziwei from the once wildly popular My Fair Princess.

The director was a fairly well-known filmmaker from Hong Kong Island.

It had been allocated 23.5% of screenings.

Mm, quite a bit more than Happy Family.

Even though Lin Chuan had already proved his ability with Balloon,

in the eyes of the cinemas, he still couldn't compare to those established directors.

Lin Chuan wasn't discouraged.

On the contrary, he was looking forward to The House That Never Dies surpassing Happy Family.

He wanted to see an even better, more thrilling horror movie.

In Lin Chuan's view, that mattered more than Happy Family making money.

After finishing his discussions with the cinemas,

Lin Chuan posted the song on Weibo and Bika Net with the caption:

[Hello, everyone! Happy Family has wrapped filming and is expected to be released on September 30.

I recorded a promotional song for you, Rice Fragrance.

I think its atmosphere fits Happy Family perfectly. If you enjoy the song, come watch Happy Family at the cinema!]

As soon as Lin Chuan posted the update, countless netizens responded.

"It's finished already? I only just watched the trailer~"

"Woohoo, I've been looking forward to this for ages!"

"Lin Chuan, be honest. Is this one actually a mildly scary movie?"

"Ah, the trailer really was funny, heartwarming, and lively. But—but I'm scared it was just bait thrown out by Director Lin!"

The moment Lin Chuan's post went up, these netizens started commenting.

Clearly, they hadn't listened to Rice Fragrance.

Instead, they'd seen that Lin Chuan's new movie was about to come out and immediately rushed to the comments to complain.

Before long, a few minutes had passed.

The first batch of listeners who'd finished Rice Fragrance made their way into the comments.

"This song is so good! It reminds me of my childhood~"

"Everyone really should listen to this song. I've already recommended it to a Close Friend!"

"My childhood paper plane has finally flown back into my hands~"

"Let me put it this way: this song is every bit as good as Love Confession Balloon, and even more profound."

With these netizens enthusiastically recommending it,

Rice Fragrance's play count climbed steadily.

Lin Chuan also spotted many familiar faces in the comments.

Ren Hang: "Boohoo, I'm about to cry. How can anyone make music this good?! (This comment is worth fifty cents. Remember to delete it.)"

Jiang Kui: "Director Lin's songs are truly amazing! After listening, I feel like going home for a visit!"

Xiao Hei: "This song is so good (I deleted it~)"

Those two idiots.

Lin Chuan sighed, then closed Weibo.

News that Lin Chuan's new movie had wrapped filming was also gaining traction on Weibo.

[Rice Fragrance, the promotional song for the movie Happy Family]

[The director of Balloon wraps his latest movie]

Those hashtags were climbing Weibo's trending list one after another.

Plenty of ordinary users heard the news, too.

Among them were people who'd heard all about Balloon.

After listening to Rice Fragrance, they were torn.

If they didn't watch the movie, it would keep nagging at them. After all, its promotional song was Rice Fragrance, and it sounded pretty heartwarming.

But if they watched it, they'd be supporting a director with a bad track record.

He'd previously claimed that the movie he'd made, Happy Balloon, was a mildly scary animated film.

It had scared plenty of people half to death.

And after Balloon came out, the director had released a promotional song called Love Confession Balloon.

That song had been pretty refreshing.

Was he trying to lure the audience in and kill them?!

A lot of people wondered about that.

As for those who preferred horror movies, they had no qualms at all.

If Lin Chuan was telling the truth and Happy Family was a light comedy, then they hadn't lost anything.

They could just go to the cinema for a bit of fun.

If Lin Chuan was lying, and Happy Family was scarier than Balloon,

then that would be even better!

Of course, some film crews knew how uncertain many viewers were and took advantage of it.

The official Weibo account for The House That Never Dies posted an update.

[Everyone's welcome to watch The House That Never Dies. It's a genuine horror movie that'll give you your money's worth!]