Chapter 8

This time, he naturally had to learn an instrument, along with the skills of songwriting and composition.

Since the original owner knew how to play the piano, Chen Mo took the easy route and learned piano as well. He had no idea how long he stayed in the Immersion Space and Training Space. When he opened his eyes again, there was already an insert song in his mind written specifically for the TV drama Emperor Wu of Han: The Young Emperor. Because of the plot requirements, the lyrics naturally described that little affair between Han Yan and Emperor Wu of Han.

Chen Mo got up and sat at the desk, switched on the lamp, took out some paper and a pen, and copied down the lyrics and melody exactly. Then he stared blankly at the new song he had written for a while before suddenly laughing. "Damn, I was just a rich second-generation kid waiting to eat and die in my last life. Who would've thought I'd become an all-rounder here?"

The next day, Chen Mo brought the new song to the production team and reported back to Director Zhang.

Director Zhang had not expected Chen Mo to work so quickly. He assumed Chen Mo was simply being perfunctory in his youthful impatience, and he immediately became a little displeased.

However, Director Zhang had always been deeply calculating. Even though he was unhappy, he did not show it on his face. He reached out and accepted Chen Mo's song, silently making up his mind before even looking at it. He felt Chen Mo was fickle and impatient, unlikely to accomplish anything great.

No matter how talented or well-qualified such a person was, Director Zhang would not give him much support. In his view, newcomers like that needed more tempering, lest their poor disposition waste their opportunities.

With those thoughts in mind, Director Zhang lowered his head and read the lyrics...

Ten minutes later, Director Zhang looked at Chen Mo in surprise and said, "These lyrics are pretty good. Did you really write them yourself?"

Chen Mo smiled smugly. "I wrote what I felt."

Director Zhang considered it, then said, "Can you sing? Sing it for me."

Chen Mo looked around in surprise and asked, "Here?"

Director Zhang nodded. "Right here."

Young Master Chen immediately felt embarrassed. Other than howling out a few songs at KTV when he was drunk in his previous life, Chen Mo had never sung in front of so many people. And this was a cappella...

Chen Mo's face burned with embarrassment. Looking at Director Zhang awkwardly, he pleaded, "Do I have to? There are so many people here, and I'm not even a professional singer..."

"Cut the nonsense." Director Zhang waved with a smile. "Just treat it as acting. You're a grown man, so why are you acting so shy? Why is your face so thin? Hurry up and sing. If you sing it well, I'll let you sing it yourself. If you don't, I'll give your song to someone else."

Chen Mo knew Director Zhang intended to support him. Although it was difficult for him, singing a song he had written himself was an experience he had never had in his previous life.

Everyone had moments when they longed for success. This was especially true of males in nature, whose instincts gave them the urge to show off and demonstrate their strength before their own kind or others. Chen Mo was no exception.

Otherwise, he would not have kept grinding away with the system. The ratio of time between the system's internal spaces and the outside world might have differed, but to Chen Mo, every minute and second was real. He had to endure it himself. In the Immersion Space, he attached himself to others and could neither speak nor move, only helplessly watching and listening. In the Training Space, he polished himself like a stone, repeating every movement hundreds or thousands of times in pursuit of perfection, tedious and dull...

Simply put, the cheat ability had been bestowed by heaven, but every skill was something Chen Mo had earned by gritting his teeth and grinding for it himself.

Something he had fought so hard to create, even if it had been a pile of crap, Chen Mo would not willingly hand it over to someone else. Much less a song he had written through genuine emotion, with the system's assistance, after spending who knew how much time on it. How could it possibly be a pile of crap?

Blinded by confidence, Chen Mo held the sheet music, licked his lips, cleared his throat, and began to sing as though throwing caution to the wind. "In dreams, Jiangnan mist and rain, northern sands raging wild / Sword in hand, I roam the world / I still remember Sima's Spring and Autumn brushwork / Blade and pen carved glory / Let history's pages turn to ash, I fear it not / Beauty's hair turns white / People gone, towers empty, yet peach blossoms bloom as ever / The west wind laughs at white horses / Years pass from this day / One parting becomes a memory / Flowers bloom and fall, who still recalls how much beauty remained / Drunk amid flourishing blooms, I watch half the city shrouded in smoke and sand / Blade raised beneath lamplight / Where are the flames of Qin-Han now / Bright moon and clear wind shine upon those who come / Why does beauty not enter my embrace sooner / In dreams, a dashing rider comes / Lovesickness red beans, no one picks them / Black hair frosted white / Who waits within crimson gauze curtains / Dark green brows paint distant mountains / In this life, I ask not whether it should be so / Evening snow covers a thousand mountains, the setting sun remains / One cup of cloudy wine, too hard to forget / Romance is washed away by rain and blown away by wind / Amid clear songs and graceful shadows / Heroes speak of victory and defeat..."

After listening to Chen Mo sing a cappella, Director Zhang smiled in satisfaction and casually said, "That's more like it. Why didn't you record a demo before bringing me the song? That was careless. Were you taking advantage of the fact that I can't read staff notation?"

Chen Mo: "..."

Director Zhang smiled again. "Oh, right. The lyrics and melody are both good, and it can fit any pairing. Let's keep it as the ending theme."

Chen Mo: "..."

Chapter 8

Since Chen Mo was not from the entertainment industry and had not signed with an agency, Director Zhang agreed with him that once Chen Mo finished filming his scenes, he would send someone to take him to a recording studio to record the song. As for the staff involved, Director Zhang would naturally arrange them in advance.

Chen Mo had no objections to Director Zhang's arrangements. To avoid embarrassing himself while recording, he secretly entered the system for some training. The direct result was that when he got out of bed the next morning, his throat was hoarse and he could not speak. Chen Mo's parents were so frightened that they thought he was sick and insisted on taking him to see a doctor.

Yet after he arrived at the hospital and underwent a thorough examination from head to toe, inside and out, they still could not find anything wrong. The doctor stared at the test reports, whose indicators were all normal, for a long time before finally concluding that Chen Mo was under too much pressure, causing his body to show signs of suboptimal health. He should exercise more, rest more, take better care of himself, and pay more attention to self-regulation. Finally, the doctor prescribed some small tablets to clear internal heat and soothe his throat.

After returning home, Chen Mo's father personally cooked all sorts of nourishing, throat-soothing soups for him, while Chen Mo's mother personally watched him finish bowl after bowl. Chen Mo suffered endlessly. In the end, the very sight of his father's soup gave him the sort of physical reaction only pregnant women had—he wanted to throw up.

At the same time, Chen Mo deeply realized that while the system was indeed a cheat ability, he could not use it recklessly without restraint.

Otherwise, he would be the one to suffer.

Because of this, Chen Mo took two days off from the production team. When he returned to work on the third day, he even brought some small pastries made by his father to treat everyone. Naturally, he also received concern and well-wishes from most of the actors and crew members.

Sun Yun, who played Chen A'jiao, had originally transitioned from being a singer. Knowing that Chen Mo's throat was inflamed, she specifically pulled him aside and shared many tips on caring for one's voice. Chen Mo was deeply grateful.

After Sun Yun left, Lin Xia came over with an unpleasant expression and sneered in a low voice, "You two seemed to have a great chat. Be careful—you might not even know when someone sells you off."

Chen Mo gave Lin Xia a baffled look, raised his brows, and asked, "What kind of crazy are you acting up now?"

"I'm acting crazy?" Lin Xia raised her voice slightly. "Do you think that hidden camera in my dressing room just appeared out of nowhere? And why were those gossip reporters so quick to react? There are only so many people on this production, and you can count those with vested interests on one hand. Other than her, who else would go to such trouble for no benefit just to screw me over?"

Chen Mo glanced at Lin Xia silently and asked quietly, "Do you have proof?"

Instead of becoming angry, Lin Xia laughed bitterly and said indignantly, "Isn't that obvious? If I had found proof, would I have let her stay in the production so comfortably? I would've kicked her out long ago."

Chen Mo thought for a moment and tried to persuade her. "If you don't have proof, then you shouldn't talk carelessly—"

"You don't believe me?" Lin Xia cut him off in a fury. "You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, unable to recognize a good person's heart. Forget it, I can't be bothered to say more. I'm just reminding you to stay away from Sun Yun. I heard she's not very clean. She likes to pimp people out to certain investors and big bosses, and plenty of newcomers from her agency have been tricked by her. You look like such a pretty boy—be careful she doesn't sell you off."

Chen Mo could not help smiling at Lin Xia's bristling appearance. He reached out and patted her head, then said with a grin, "Don't worry. The person who can sell me off probably hasn't even had a grandmother born yet!"

"Oh, you're pretty confident..." Lin Xia slapped Chen Mo's hand away and mocked, "Will you die if you don't brag? I heard she has all sorts of tricks. You're a newcomer who just entered the industry, with no backing and no agency, yet you stand out so much. You'd better be careful."

After Lin Xia finished speaking, she caught sight of Huang Lixin and Fei Yuchen approaching from the corner of her eye. She abruptly changed the subject and brought up gossip from the neighboring production: a famous male actor had filmed a bed scene with the female lead, and the two had gotten carried away and made it real, enraging the man's legal wife enough to come block them.

Huang Lixin happened to hear Lin Xia vividly describing the scene as he approached. Seeing Chen Mo enjoying the story, he smiled and shared a few entertainment-industry gossip stories to join in. Then he handed Chen Mo a cup of chilled pear juice with rock sugar and said with a smile, "It'll quench your thirst, soothe your throat, and cool you down."

Chen Mo accepted it with a smile and thanked him.

Lin Xia and Fei Yuchen could only exchange a smile. Everyone knew that because Huang Lixin, who played Emperor Wu of Han, had many childhood-sweetheart scenes with Chen Mo's Han Yan, he had become too deeply immersed in the role. Even when they were not filming, he liked to stick close to Chen Mo. However, his words and actions were restrained, and his thoughtfulness was perfectly measured, so it did not make anyone uncomfortable.

At first, Chen Mo felt a little pressure when dealing with Huang Lixin like this. But after Director Zhang talked him through it, he learned that such feelings of staying immersed in a role were common for actors and would generally fade a couple of months after filming wrapped. Only then did he feel relieved.

The young actors clustering together immediately drew everyone's attention. Assistant Director Zhang Lin even directed two cameras over to film some behind-the-scenes footage.

Chen Mo did not get a chance to film until after two in the afternoon. This scene was about Han Yan riding in the emperor's imperial carriage to clear the way when he encountered the King of Jiangdu. Unaware of the situation, the King of Jiangdu ordered his attendants to make way and personally knelt at the roadside to pay respects to the imperial procession. But he discovered that Han Yan was sitting in the carriage, and Han Yan ignored him completely and drove away. The King of Jiangdu, humiliated and enraged, complained to the Queen Mother. Dissatisfied with Han Yan's arrogance and indulgence, the Queen Mother angrily reprimanded him and ordered him to apologize to the King of Jiangdu. Han Yan, feeling wronged, then complained to Emperor Wu of Han.

"...He truly doesn't know his place. I was ordered by His Majesty to ride in the imperial carriage and clear the way. The King of Jiangdu yielded and paid his respects upon seeing the imperial procession—that was proper etiquette and protocol. What does he have to feel wronged about? Did he expect not to bow when he saw the imperial carriage? Or did he expect the imperial carriage to yield to him and make way for him?"

Inside Weiyang Palace, Han Yan, dressed in a dark black robe, paced furiously through the hall. The black silk was embroidered with subtle dark patterns, while the jade crown atop his head gleamed like creamy fat. His jet-black hair only made his skin appear even whiter, as flawless as fine jade.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, reclined sideways upon the imperial throne, supporting his forehead with one hand. Through the swaying tassels of his crown, he looked at Han Yan with indulgence and tried to persuade him. "...This was also Mother's wish. The King of Jiangdu is, after all, a member of the imperial clan and my younger brother. Even if you have to suffer this grievance once, what harm is there in admitting fault?"

"...I did nothing wrong. Why should I admit fault? Must I, carrying out the Son of Heaven's command to lead the imperial carriage, yield to those feudal kings who have gone to their fiefs? Must an envoy of the Son of Heaven bow and scrape before a feudal king? Your Majesty endlessly indulges the Queen Mother and the King of Jiangdu, but where does that leave the dignity of the Son of Heaven? Where does that leave the laws and order of the court?"

Han Yan rebuked him in utter fury, speaking forcefully within the hall as he sneered at Liu Che. "Must all matters of state in our great Han Empire be decided by the orders of women hidden in the inner palace? Then what is the point of Your Majesty being emperor?"

Emperor Wu of Han flew into a rage at once and shouted sternly, "Han Yan!"

"Your servant is here!" Han Yan refused to yield, staring straight into Emperor Wu of Han's eyes as he replied loudly.

The ruler and minister confronted each other for a long while. In the end, Emperor Wu of Han was the one who took a step back. His imposing air weakened as he could not help saying, "...She is my mother."