Abstract Art Award Winner

The sky outside the window was completely dark, and scattered specks of light shone through the gaps in the hotel curtains, outlining blurry contours in the dim room.

Zhou Le and Tian Xiwei embraced, the lingering warmth of their previous "deep conversation" still present, the air thick with an ambiguous and languid atmosphere.

Tian Xiwei curled up in Zhou Le's arms like a lazy kitten.

Her fingers unconsciously stroked his chest, which was still hard and engorged from their recent practice, and she was somewhat captivated by it.

The blush on her cheeks hadn't completely faded. She looked up at Zhou Le's profile, which appeared even more defined in the dim light, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Le lowered his head, nuzzled her hair with his nose, and spoke in a hoarse and magnetic voice.

“I’m laughing at you,” Tian Xi’s eyes curved into crescents. “You usually act all aloof and unapproachable in front of the camera, but in private… tsk tsk, you’re a total hooligan! If your fans knew this, their illusions would shatter.”

Zhou Le raised an eyebrow, tightened his grip on her arm, and deliberately lowered his voice: "Oh? I don't know who it was just now, but they kept saying 'Brother Le is so amazing' and 'I can't take it anymore'... If my filter is pure, then what is that person?"

"Oh! You can't say that!" Tian Xiwei instantly covered his mouth with her hand, her ears turning red with embarrassment. "That...that was a tactical show of weakness! It was to unleash your potential! Don't you understand?!"

Zhou Le was amused by her sophistry and pulled her hand down to hold it in his palm: "Yes, yes, Teacher Tian's tactics are superb, I admire you."

"That's more like it." Tian Xi raised her chin smugly, then, as if remembering something, asked curiously, "Hey, seriously, are you going to report to that... League of Legends competition again in a few days? To be a commentator?"

“Yes,” Zhou Le nodded, “The group stage is about to start, so I need to familiarize myself with the commentary process and practice with my partner beforehand.”

"Is it fun? I saw those commentators shouting themselves hoarse on stage." Tian Xiwei imagined the scene. "Although I don't play games much, sometimes when I see those commentators on video, it still gets me really excited. I just don't know what it's like to see it live."

“It should be quite challenging.” Zhou Le smiled. “You need to understand the situation, speak clearly, be passionate, and remain neutral. But let’s give it a try. Treat it as a new experience. After all, isn’t the point of living to try something new? Since I’ve never done it before, I might as well give it a shot. Besides, the game company is offering a lot of money. They’re quite wealthy. Just the money from selling one skin alone could be enough for me to earn for a year.”

"Our Brother Le is really multi-talented," Tian Xiwei teased. "Actor, director, investor, race car driver, screenwriter, singer, and now he's going to add game commentator to the list. Is he going to do a stand-up comedy routine next?"

“I can consider it,” Zhou Le nodded seriously. “I’ll ask you to be my straight man, and we can form a ‘Le-Wei Duo’.”

"Get lost!" Tian Xi said with a smile, playfully punching him. "I'm not going to embarrass myself with you. I've never even heard of it!"

"Haha, you say no, but your professional skills are still outstanding. You can just speak off the cuff."

The two laughed and joked for a while, creating a very relaxed atmosphere. Whether at work or in private, they both enjoyed being together; chatting or doing anything together was always a pleasant experience.

The main thing is that everyone can get along well, whether it's about work, life, or entertainment, they have a lot in common.

Tian Xiwei has a really good personality; she's lively and cheerful yet knows her limits, knowing when to be affectionate and when to be quiet.

She looked at Zhou Le and suddenly asked softly, "How long will your trip to Iceland take?"

"It depends on the progress of the competition. If everything goes smoothly, it may take about a month. If not, it will be back in three to five days. But the premise is that all of our country's teams lose in the first place, which is indeed unlikely."

"I haven't watched much of the game before, and my impression of it is limited to the veteran professional players from the previous seasons. Now some impressive newcomers and teams have emerged, but how should I put it, this is a normal phenomenon. So I think I should prepare for at least a month. At most, I can come back after a few days of rest after the group stage and take care of things here." Zhou Le said after calculating the time.

"That's a long time..." Tian Xiwei's tone held a hint of reluctance, but she quickly cheered up, "It's okay! I'll be busy too then, my new drama is about to start filming. We can video chat!"

"Okay." Zhou Le looked into her bright eyes and his heart softened. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. With a slight tremor in his heart, he looked into those big, blinking eyes and couldn't help but say, "Let's do it again."

"Hmph, bring it on then. Do you think I'm afraid of you? I can do it five more times without any problem. I'm just worried that your body can't take it."

"Hehe, 5 times? Well, I'm going to challenge my limits today."

And so, aside from fulfilling the promise in one night, after the first few times, there were 5 more times. But towards the end, he really couldn't take it anymore and had to rely on his talent to keep going.

Even the air felt much thinner.

After their passionate encounter, Tian Xiwei was so tired that her eyelids were drooping, but she still forced herself to say, "No, I have to go back. I have work early tomorrow morning..."

Zhou Le glanced at the time: "What are you talking about? Tomorrow morning? It's almost morning now! Are you out of your mind?"

"Ah, is it already morning? I don't feel anything at all. After coming here so many times, I feel like I don't know what the world is anymore. My brain is all mush."

Zhou Le thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you take a break? Can the event be postponed? If it really can't be postponed, I'll arrange a car to take you."

"No need, no need," Tian Xi struggled to get up and put on her clothes. "My assistant is nearby. I can have him pick me up. It'll be very convenient. You'll have to go back to your commentary work later, but I remember your flight is in the afternoon. You can rest here this morning."

Despite her exhaustion, drowsiness, and aching back and knees, Tian Xiwei got up, took a shower, and then got dressed.

"It's all your fault, you made so much stuff, now you're all dried out."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. We still need to be careful."

But Tian Xiwei wasn't really complaining. She quickly planted a farewell kiss on Zhou Le's lips and slipped out of the room like a light butterfly. Before leaving, she turned back and made a face at him: "Brother Le, good luck with your commentary! I'll be cheering you on in front of the TV! If your commentary isn't good... I'll be sending comments to criticize you!"

However, his departing figure still looked very tired, and his walking posture was a little awkward.

But with work to do, there's no other way; even makeup will probably have to be done in the car.

After seeing Tian Xiwei off, Zhou Le washed up and lay in bed. Although he was physically exhausted, he was excited by the new challenge.

Commentating on the League of Legends World Championship is indeed a completely new field. He had played the game before, and he was able to go toe-to-toe with Faker back then.

But now I'm doing commentary.

Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly remembered the man who was actually named Wu Wu Kai.

In the end, he could only sigh. Sometimes there are things that are truly beyond our control. We can't blame others; we can only blame ourselves for not being careful enough.

Zhou Le slept in at the hotel until noon, then took a car straight to the airport. He even ate his meal and took a short nap on the plane. Around 5 PM, Zhou Le arrived on time at the rehearsal base arranged by the League of Legends esports organizers.

This was essentially an official arrangement; during this period, all their meals, accommodations, and transportation were covered by the government.

The director and senior commentator in charge of coordinating with him were very polite to him, but they also made their demands clear.

After all, Zhou Le's fame is far beyond what they can compare to. They only have a certain amount of traffic and popularity within the industry, and few people recognize them outside of it. But Zhou Le is different; everyone from children to the elderly has heard his name to some extent.

"Mr. Zhou, welcome, welcome! We have no worries about your game understanding. We've watched your live streams, and it's absolutely top-notch. You'd be more than qualified to be a professional player, even a top-tier (T0) player," the director said with a smile. "For the commentary side, we mainly need to familiarize ourselves with professional commentary terminology, pacing, and teamwork with our partners. Would you prefer to be the main commentator controlling the flow of the game, or would you prefer to analyze and commentate on the situation?"

Zhou Le thought for a moment and said, "I'll try them all first and see which style suits me better. I can cooperate or give a solo lecture, as long as I can handle it. In short, my task here is to promote the event and bring in some traffic, and then cooperate with the teachers to do the job well."

"No problem!" the commentator readily agreed. "Shall we test the waters by commentating on a practice match?"

Entering the simulated commentary booth, putting on headphones, and facing the game screen, Zhou Le took a deep breath.

This is completely different from his casual comments when he plays games or streams; it requires more rigorous logic, more fluent expression, and continuous passion.

Furthermore, they need to speak fast enough to keep up with every camera cut by the director, quickly identify each player and the hero they are playing, and even accurately describe the skills they use.

At first, he was a little reserved, mainly recounting the battle that took place on the field: "The blue team's jungler came to the mid lane, flashed to control the enemy mid laner, and cooperated with his own mid laner to kill him... This was a successful gank."

The experienced commentator beside him reminded him, "Mr. Zhou, you could add more emotion and prediction. For example, 'Great job! That timing was perfect! The red team's mid laner didn't have Flash at all; this kill could be the key to turning the tide of the game!'"

Zhou Le grasped the concept quickly and gradually relaxed.

With his deep understanding of the game, he began to add his own analysis and predictions: "Pay attention to the blue team's ward placement; they might be planning to take down this dragon."

The red team's jungler was positioned a bit far away. If the blue team made a decisive move, they could easily take down this dragon... Sure enough! They started it! The red team didn't have time to react!

His speech gradually quickened, and his voice became more passionate, but he always maintained a neutral stance, praising both sides' brilliant plays and objectively pointing out their mistakes.

After commentating on a training match that lasted more than 30 minutes, he didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, he felt a sense of exhilaration.

At that moment, he even felt that as long as he immersed himself in the game, the sense of participation and experience in commentating on the game was no less than that of personally participating.

The fast-paced commentary and the constant changes in the situation create a sense of excitement and novelty that can be even more exhilarating than participating in the game yourself.

As the simulation ended, the director and the person in charge walked in, clapping.

"That was fantastic, Teacher Zhou! Your learning and adaptability are amazing!" The director gave a thumbs up. "Especially in the second half, you couldn't tell he was a novice at all. His pacing, passion, and professionalism were all on point! He's definitely capable of handling the rest of the commentary!"

The person in charge nodded: "That's right. Professor Zhou, we have another request. For this year's global finals, in addition to the original theme song, we'd like to create a special Chinese version of the promotional song, sung by an influential celebrity. We think you're very suitable, whether it's popularity, image, or... well, you know, traffic."

The price is negotiable, and we can also discuss the subsequent commercial performance rights, as long as you're willing to sing.

Zhou Le was a little surprised, but thought it was a good experience: "A Chinese promotional song? That's great, what style is it?"

"We prefer something high-energy, competitive, and electronic, since the overall style of League of Legends is primarily electronic. Additionally," the person in charge added, "we also plan to create a remix version in collaboration with the internationally renowned band PVRIS, which will require you to record with the band."

We've already made arrangements with them, so you don't need to worry about the cost. Riot Games... they're quite wealthy." He smiled, implying that the budget was more than enough.

Zhou Le found it quite interesting and agreed.

So Zhou Le stayed there for a few more days, practiced, and then practiced the moves that Wang Baoqiang had taught him before when he went back at night.

The band PVRIS also came to China. After a brief introduction, they went into the recording studio and first recorded a solo version in Chinese.

Zhou Le's grasp of melody and control of sound impressed the recording engineer, and then came the live recording collaboration with the PVRIS band.

Lynn Gunn, the lead singer of PVRIS, is a very unique musician. Although we don't speak the same language, we share a common understanding and passion for music.

The collaboration process was very interesting. Zhou Le needed to communicate with the other party about musical details using simple English and body language.

He also taught Lynn the pronunciation of a few Chinese song lyrics, such as "Have you eaten?", "The weather is nice today", "Oh my", "I'm not good", and "You're such a jerk" – all good greetings.

In certain situations, these can all help to strengthen relationships with others.

"Zhou, your voice is very powerful!"

Lynn, speaking through a translator, said, "It blends wonderfully with our music! I hope to have the opportunity to perform in China again, and I definitely want you to collaborate with us then!"

Zhou Le responded with a smile: "Welcome! When you come to China, I'll treat you to the best hot pot! I guarantee it'll be spicier than you can imagine!"

The collaborative recording was successfully completed in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Zhou Le was also very satisfied with the final result.

After completing the commentary training and theme song recording, Zhou Le found a martial arts gym in Beijing and devoted himself to several days of intensive combat training. Then he went to promote "Cliff Walkers" and this time he came to Harbin with the crew.

"Cliff Walkers" has been released and its reputation continues to grow, but its box office performance has been sluggish, mainly due to the limitations imposed by its subject matter and style.

Unless it's something exceptionally exciting or tragic, achieving high box office returns is quite difficult.

Zhang Yimou was well aware of this, or rather, he didn't make this film for high box office returns, but rather to win awards.

As long as we don't lose money by then, it's fine.

After all, for many investment companies, making money is one aspect, but reputation and experience are equally important. (End of Chapter)