A Sky of Blue Above My Head

The next day, December 9th, the rental apartment.

Li Xun received President Dai's approval to work from home, so after breakfast, he lay on his bed browsing trending news.

"Top 5 TV Dramas That Suffered the Biggest Losses Over the Years."

"NO. 5: Marriage Battlefield"

"Production cost 110 million, Dou Miao score 5.6, average viewership 0.8, average online episode viewership 37 million, estimated loss 50 million."

"NO. 4: Harem Legend"

"Production cost 160 million, Dou Miao score 4.9, average viewership 0.9, average online episode viewership 42 million, estimated loss 75 million."

"NO. 3: Battlefield Wind and Rain"

"Production cost 210 million, Dou Miao score 5.6, average viewership 0.6, average online episode viewership 41 million, estimated loss 93 million."

"NO. 2: Divine Soldier Descends"

"Production cost 230 million, Dou Miao score 5.9, average viewership 0.7, average online episode viewership 45 million, estimated loss 110 million."

"NO. 1: Demon Clan"

"Production cost 270 million, Dou Miao score 5.3, average viewership 1.1, average online episode viewership 51 million, estimated loss 160 million (Production company Tianyang Entertainment went bankrupt, Guangyue Media was acquired)."

"So the question is, do you think Young Bao Qingtian will make it onto this list?"

Li Xun clicked on the comments:

"Probably not, didn't they debunk that? Uncle Ming and Huang Zhou's salaries weren't that high, and the production cost for this drama shouldn't have even reached 100 million, right?"

"You believe them just because they debunked it? Let me put it this way, 'rumor' means 'leading the way from afar'!"

"Uncle Ming posted his salary, how can that be faked?"

"The company CEO also takes a 1 yuan annual salary, do you believe that? Just look at how hard Chen Minghao is working to promote it, you know his salary is one thing, and his shares are another."

"And Huang Zhou, if he really only took 400,000 per episode, would he be crazy enough to turn down a movie with an international director to act in a web drama?"

"Penguin Video is rich, too bad they aren't using their money wisely. Spending money on hype is worse than actually improving the quality of the drama. Once the drama is released, whoever wants to watch it can watch it. I won't be watching anyway. I'll make a prediction right here – if Young Bao Qingtian's Dou Miao score breaks 6, I'll run naked in front of the Penguin Innovation Building!"

Just then, his phone received a text message. Li Xun opened it and saw it was a bank notification: the copyright fee for his Predestination had arrived. Li Xun thought for a moment, then transferred the entire amount to his family without keeping a cent. He'd wait for the commission from Young Bao Qingtian before thinking about moving.

He spoke with his mother, Wang Huiqing, for a few minutes, briefly explaining his work situation. After hanging up, Li Xun sat in front of his computer, the 7th episode of Young Bao Qingtian playing in his mind. He was ready to start writing the script for the second arc.

"A clear sky above my head, a firm belief in my heart, not ignorant youth, just unafraid of challenges."

The opening theme song of the drama playing in his mind, Li Xun suddenly thought of a problem. He had only written the script for Young Bao Qingtian, but he hadn't had time to create the theme song and ending song yet!

The theme song Unburdened Heart and the ending song As Long As There Is You for Young Bao Qingtian were both songs Li Xun remembered vividly. It could even be said that these two songs had become one with the drama Young Bao Qingtian in his memory. Whenever he heard them in malls, plazas, or on the street, images of Young Bao Qingtian would naturally come to mind.

Moreover, these two songs were genuinely beautiful, especially the theme song Unburdened Heart. The lyrics perfectly captured Bao Zheng's personality and the drama's theme.

The drama was already plagued by plagiarism, so what was two more songs?

Li Xun took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Dai Ying.

Li Xunhuan: "President Dai, I was idle and wrote two songs for the drama, a theme song and an ending song. Shall I send them to you now?"

After sending it, Li Xun waited for a reply while reading the news. About half an hour later.

Yingying: "You can write songs too? You don't need to worry about the theme song and ending song. I plan to invite Mr. Huang Ting to customize the theme song and ending song for Young Bao Qingtian. Your task now is to focus on writing the plot for the second arc."

From his predecessor's memories, Li Xun knew that Mr. Huang Ting was a top ten composer in the Chinese music scene. If he could really get him to write lyrics and compose for Young Bao Qingtian, his skill might not be inferior to these two songs he had in hand.

But judging from Dai Ying's tone, hadn't she asked him yet?

Li Xunhuan: "President Dai, I'll send you the lyrics first for your reference."

"Theme Song: Unburdened Heart"

"A clear sky above my head A firm belief in my heart Not ignorant youth Just unafraid of challenges Seeking clarity in all matters Is perhaps an unchangeable nature If I can deliver justice Why wouldn't I do it Some careless words Resolved my doubts A strange impulse Drives me to continue searching Your every move"

I paid extra attention.

As long as the truth comes out, Everything will be unburdened heart.

..."

Li Xun: "President Dai, I can't compose music, but there's always a melody in my mind. I'll hum it. If possible, find some professional musicians to transcribe the score. My singing isn't good, so after the music is transcribed, find a professional singer to perform it and see if it fits with the TV series Young Bao Qingtian."

Next, Li Xun pressed the voice message button on WeChat and began to sing a cappella.

He had never formally studied singing before. His singing level was probably at most upper-middle among ordinary people. Although he could attract a bunch of clueless fangirls singing in KTV, he couldn't compare to professional singers.

This was a super long voice message, a full four and a half minutes.

Before Dai Ying could reply, Li Xun sent the lyrics for the ending theme song, As Long As There Is You.

"President Dai, the ending theme song is a duet called As Long As There Is You."

"(Female) Who can tell me, Is there such a pen That can draw a pair of eyes that never shed tears, That can hold onto the fleeting time in this world, And make all beauty never fade from now on? ... (Duet) A youth that hasn't turned bad, A love that hasn't been lost, All promises eternal like the stars. (Female) Who can tell me, Is there such a pen That can draw a pair of eyes that never shed tears, That can hold onto the fleeting time in this world, And make all beauty never fade from now on? (Male) If that's the case, I can comfort myself, On nights without you, I can draw a ray of light, Hold onto all the happiness, And send it all to you. The bitter taste turns sweet. ..."

After sending the lyrics, Li Xun said in another WeChat message, "President Dai, my singing isn't good, please bear with me."

Then came another super long voice message, a full 4 minutes and 12 seconds.

Dai Ying's office.

Dai Ying's delicate eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Li Xun's barrage of messages.

She had no desire to even click on the two super long voice messages, each lasting over 4 minutes.

Just be a screenwriter and do your job. Haven't you heard of specialization?

This Young Bao Qingtian was extremely important to her. Since she took over Penguin Video's original content center, its production budget had risen from 10% to 30% of Penguin Video's total content investment. This 20% increase wasn't a windfall; it was hard-won, snatched from the content acquisition department's share.

The reason she, at such a young age, could become a senior vice president at Penguin Video was because she had almost single-handedly made the original content center bigger and stronger.

However, since the beginning of the year, the original content center hadn't produced any breakout hits. On the contrary, a drama acquired by the content acquisition department had achieved good results.

If the original content center couldn't deliver another good drama by the end of the year, it was predictable that the center would be at a disadvantage in the budget competition with the content acquisition department next year.

Therefore, Dai Ying had been under immense pressure lately. She valued Young Bao Qingtian so much that she wanted to make it the best in every aspect. That's why she had gone to great lengths to cast Chen Minghao as the Eighth Prince.

The theme song was the audience's first impression of a TV series. How could it be decided just by someone humming a few lines? Although the lyrics seemed decent?