Abstract Art Award Winner

Chapter 249 One bad apple spoils the whole bunch

Zhou Le nodded in response to Cheng Long's gesture of goodwill.

"Big brother, I'll be counting on you to look after me in Hong Kong."

"no problem."

In order to rehearse, Zhou Le hasn't even gone to see Nazha these past few days.

This made Naza a little resentful.

"Okay, I'll come see you after I'm done with this in a few days. I really can't get away these days."

Naza knew that Zhou Le's work was very important, so she only complained a little and didn't actually ask Zhou Le to come to her.

"Okay, this is what you said."

"Don't worry, when have I ever gone back on my word?"

As the days passed, Zhou Le felt that although his life was busy and stressful, it was something to enjoy.

Looking back, for a long time before, I was always running around for all sorts of things. Although it was all for my own sake, I still felt tired.

"No wonder some veteran actors don't appear on variety shows, don't accept endorsements, don't shoot commercials, and instead perform in stage plays when they're not filming, focusing on acting."

I really feel that this kind of life is purer.

But he also knows that he can't live that kind of life at his current age. Although he has enough money, it's like how living in the city for a long time and then going back to his hometown in the countryside feels especially comfortable, but living in the countryside all the time would be boring.

"This thing can only serve as a diversion in work and life."

But once I join the drama troupe this year, I'll have to perform a certain number of shows starting next year, which I can use as my free time.

On the day of the performance, Zhou Le prepared backstage early. As the host announced the program, the group walked onto the stage one by one.

While adjusting their positions, Zhou Le glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye. Everyone seemed relaxed, clearly having experienced many such occasions before.

Zhou Le was indeed a little nervous about performing on such a stage for the first time, but seeing everyone else calm and composed, he also calmed down. After all, it was only a three-minute performance, and he wouldn't have many lines to speak.

In the first and second verses, Zhou Le's lyrics consist of only one line.

"Life continues endlessly, all for that one entrustment."

Then there's the chorus.

However, in the second part, Cheng Long and Zhang Liangying sang a line together.

Wang Lihong and Han Xue sang a line together.

Zhou Le then sang this line again with Zhang Liangying.

All he has to do is fully immerse himself in the song and raise his hand when necessary.

Actually, Zhou Le doesn't have this habit. After all, singing is singing. But Zhang Liangying, Wang Lihong, Angela Zhang, and Cheng Long all said that standing still while singing is too dry. They suggested either more eye contact or raising their hands.

Especially when singing these patriotic songs.

At first, he was a little unaccustomed to it. After raising his hand, he didn't know whether he should straighten his hand with his five fingers together or bend it slightly to relax.

Then he found himself becoming more and more uneasy, just like how a word becomes more and more unfamiliar and strange the more you look at it.

After that, he simply stopped thinking about it and just relaxed.

After the performance, they went on stage to take a bow. Zhou Le stood at the back, but because of his height, he was very conspicuous in the crowd.

In the audience, Zhou Le also saw several familiar faces smiling and clapping at him.

Upon discovering this, Zhou Le waved vigorously.

Afterwards, the director had the staff take everyone to the hotel for dinner, while he had to stay behind to accompany his superiors later. "Brother, are you still nervous in situations like this?"

Once inside the hotel, Zhou Le asked curiously.

"Of course it will. If we mess up on such an important occasion, it'll all be over."

Zhou Le actually knew a lot of rumors about Cheng Long in the past, but now Cheng Long still seems very open-minded and cute.

But he wouldn't really treat Cheng Long like that. They could get along, and at most they could laugh and joke around once they became familiar with each other, but they had to maintain a proper distance.

"What about my second brother?"

"Of course I will be nervous too. My older brother is nervous, how could I not be nervous?"

Zhou Le thought for a moment and said, "Oh, I understand. Second brother, you might not have been nervous at first, but since eldest brother said you were nervous, you have to say you were nervous too."

"Don't talk nonsense. Don't even think about trying to sow discord between me and my brother here."

However, everyone knew it was a joke, and no one cared much about what Zhou Lelai said.

Afterwards, Zhou Le chatted with Angela Chang for a while.

"Sis, I've loved listening to your songs since I was little. When I was in school, especially when I was studying for exams, I would listen to Jay Chou for small exams and your songs for big exams."

"Really? No wonder you're so good at studying, you've been listening to my songs."

"Of course, many of your songs are very powerful. Listening to your songs while doing exercises can take at least three hours."

Zhou Le's words were true; Zhang Shaohan, despite her small stature, always seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

Especially its incredibly penetrating tone, which makes it impossible to stop listening.

At this point, Zhou Le thought for a moment and said, "Sister, I have a few projects on hand. Could you sing the theme song for them?"

"Sure, just bring me your song and I'll give you a discount."

"Okay, sister, I'm relieved to hear you say that. I'll go find someone to write the song right away."

Zhou Le gained several dozen more experience points while having dinner here that evening.

But in addition to meeting with Angela Chang, Zhou Le also met with Wang Lihong.

Wang Lihong doesn't care anyway. He's not short of money. As long as the song is good, he's willing to sing it for free. If the song isn't good, he won't sing it no matter how much money is offered.

Speaking of which, Wang Lihong's pursuit of music is still higher than Jay Chou's. In recent years, Jay Chou has started to give up.

After dinner, Zhou Le returned to the hotel and went straight to sleep.

Afterwards, Zhou Le participated in a performance in front of Tiananmen Square, but it was mostly just walking in formation and there was nothing to perform.

Looking at the people around him and Tiananmen Square, Zhou Le smiled from the bottom of his heart.

After finishing all his business here, Zhou Le went to promote "The Captain" and "My People, My Country" for a few more events.

These two films were released around the same time, and both achieved quite good box office results.

The film "The Motherland" grossed 300 million yuan on its opening day, while "The Captain" grossed over 200 million yuan on its opening day.

According to predictions, the final figure is expected to be over two billion. As for how high it can go, that depends on subsequent publicity and word-of-mouth.

There's not much to say about "The Captain." It's based on a true story, and while it has its flaws after artistic embellishment, it also has its highlights. Overall, its merits outweigh its flaws, and there are no factual errors in it.

Even if it was in the original script, it was all changed during filming after Zhou Le made corrections.

On the contrary, while most segments of "My People, My Country" received good reviews, the segment "Daytime Meteor," directed by Chen Kaige, received surprisingly poor reviews.

(End of this chapter)