Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 609 Cool Girls "Extraordinarily Sweet Duo" Debut on the Spring Festival Gala
"Spring Festival Gala?"

Such unfamiliar vocabulary.

Xiao Liu did appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage in 2004, singing "Warm" from his first and only album that year.

Then, the year before last, I sat with my husband, Lu Kuan, in the VIP middle seats of the Spring Festival Gala. This was a national honor and courtesy bestowed upon the chief director of the unprecedentedly successful 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

For countless aspiring stars and actors who are not yet famous or even struggling to survive in the industry, the Spring Festival Gala is undoubtedly the ultimate lever to change their destiny. It is a fast track to national recognition, and a single appearance can bring them a level of fame that is difficult to achieve even with months of intensive publicity.
But for Xiao Liu at this stage, being on the Spring Festival Gala is not as fun as spending New Year's Eve at home with her babies. Even though the two little ones don't understand what the Spring Festival is yet, their desire to explore the world and initiate communication is getting stronger and stronger, which is the most fun time for them.

Judging from her expression, Zhang Heping knew that this kind of project didn't appeal to her much, so she explained with a smile: "This year's Spring Festival Gala has three general directors. Ma Dong is in charge of the comedy segment, Liu Gang is in charge of the song and dance segment, and Chen Linchun is in charge of both."

"This Old Chen is the director of CCTV's large-scale program production center. My husband and I were old colleagues, and I really couldn't refuse him..."

"But don't worry!" Old Zhang said solemnly, "I said I couldn't refuse because of face, but I'm just passing on a message. After all, they don't know you two, and they won't be able to get a word in edgewise."

"Whether you go or not is up to you; it doesn't really matter."

Xiao Liu laughed and said, "According to what you said, when we go to the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles for a meeting in a couple of days, won't someone have to pull some strings and speak on our behalf?"

"This is just my guess, but it's pretty close," Zhang Heping said with a smile.

Even though she went abroad during her middle school years, Liu Yifei has become very familiar with the ways of the world in China over the years.

Whether it's a big or small matter, it's always better to ask an acquaintance to pass on a word than to rush forward on your own.

For people who are employed or organized, it often seems natural to have their affairs "mentioned" or "put in a good word" by their superiors or respected elders, leaving room for maneuver for both parties.

This seemingly roundabout route is often the most efficient one, and neither party will feel awkward regardless of whether it succeeds or not.

Moreover, this is the current situation, the current road is wide, and the current Liu Yifei.

Sure enough, taking advantage of the film crew's break, Xiao Liu spent another day at the Beiping Federation of Literary and Art Circles, fulfilling her duties as the director of the Youth Workers Committee. When she returned home, she inevitably brought up the matter with her husband again.

November 28th, living room of the main villa in Wenyuhe Mansion.

Knowing that Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei had returned, Jing Tian, ​​who had just finished filming her role as Princess Nihuang in "Nirvana in Fire," happily went over for a meal.

This pseudo-political drama aimed at women will air on Travel Channel during prime time. It has many flaws, but its advantages are high ratings and box office success. Jiang Wei has fixed many logical loopholes, but overall it still leans more towards historical romance.

This is the second TV series starring Jing Tian as the female lead. After "The Book of Peace" sparked a craze for period dramas, the short-term popularity of "Nirvana in Fire" may be even higher than that of "Meteor Shower," the drama that made her famous.

In comparison, the popularity of Qing Dynasty dramas in this era, such as "Palace" and "New My Fair Princess" currently being produced by Hunan TV, is far less than that of the parallel universe.

"The Spring Festival Gala?" Da Tian Tian exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle Lu even told me that he was planning to have me sing. We should have finished talking about it by now."

Jing Tian is now collaborating with Wenjie in the form of a studio, so apart from film and television projects and her own sense of identity, Lu Zheng is still in charge of the rest of the business operations.

Just like this year's Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Rabbit, Jing Tian's current popularity is more than enough. The rest is just a matter of public relations coordinating a good appearance time or a pleasing program.

A duet of two or four people can never compare to a solo performance, even a children's solo performance, like Huang Shengyi's performance two years ago.

There is room for maneuver in these situations.

Jing Tian ate lamb brains in the hot pot, her mouth babbling non-stop as she ate with gusto: "Great! You agreed to go! Can we put together a show?"

Liu Yifei chuckled: "Do you think the Spring Festival Gala is your own private business?"

“My family can’t open, but yours can!” Da Tiantian gestured to Lu Kuan, who was fiddling with his phone, “Why don’t you let Teacher Lu talk to him? Anyway, he’s begging you to go.”

"Don't talk nonsense unless it's absolutely necessary. It's a normal invitation. Even if you go, you still have to follow the program team's arrangements." The hostess ate meat with no less tameness than her best friend; neither of the women were particularly gluttonous.

"I actually really wanted to perform a skit with Teacher Benshan, it seems like a lot of fun, but unfortunately he's been appearing on shows in Liaoning Province for the past two years."

"What do you think, Lu Kuan?" Xiao Liu glanced at her husband, who kept waving his phone. "Stop playing on your phone. When did you start liking to play on your phone?"

The perspective shifts to the dining room of the mansion, where two women and Lu Kuan are eating hot pot at one end, while Lu Kuan is fiddling with his phone, ignoring their casual conversation.

At the other end, Liu Xiaoli and Aunt Qiao were feeding two babies.

They didn't want to leave their parents' side, but hot pot posed a high risk to them, so they decided to have the food served at both ends of the long table.

But while Xiao Liu couldn't wake the "pretending to be asleep," Youyou and Tiedan easily activated him.

"father!"

"dad!!"

Tie Dan now seems to enjoy competing with his sister; if she shouts once, he'll either shout twice or shout even harder.

The one-year-and-seven-month-old baby has already started to show some signs of jealousy, and likes to steal his father's attention.

"Huh? Eh!"

Xiao Liu watched with a disgruntled expression as the scoundrel moved his rice bowl to the other side of the table, completely ignoring what he had just said. His resentful look made Da Tian Tian chuckle to herself.

They were also secretly pleased.

So you've finally met your match! Well done, Tie Dan!

"Dad, look what you're eating!"

Seeing that there was still a lot of food in their bowls, the old father started his usual "food-grabbing" game. At this time, the two little ones would cooperate and quickly shovel their food into their bowls.

"Eat up! Dad's going to grab it!" Grandma Liu Xiaoli teased the twins, eager to see them devour the food.

These two little rascals are quite clever; this little game won't work after two months. Youyou happily took the spoon from Aunt Qiao's hand, scooped up a spoonful of rice, and shakily handed it to her father's mouth.

"Dad! Eat!"

"Eat, Dad!" The clever Tie Dan, not wanting to be outdone, desperately held the rice closer, almost stuffing grains of rice up his father's nostrils.

Today the little ones had soft rice, steamed cod pieces, and blanched and finely chopped broccoli, but the two small bowls of steamed egg custard were already gone.

The weather outside wasn't great, and the meadow on the five-a-side football pitch was damp and chilly, so we didn't let them out to run around and play all morning. Maybe that's why they didn't have any appetite today.

"Oh! Let's eat together!"

Dad symbolically ate a small bite each of them, then smiled and took the spoons from their hands, starting to feed them at the same time. He finished the task in no time.

Liu Xiaoli was extremely satisfied: "These two children only recognize Xiaolu; they're still closer to their father."

"Then you're so useless!" Da Tiantian mocked the young woman, whose face was even more depressed. "You spend every day with Youyou and Tiedan, and Teacher Lu has only been home for a little over a month, and they've already been kidnapped."

"Nonsense!" Liu Yifei exclaimed angrily. "He's always playing dangerous games to entice the babies and give them a thrill. Of course the children like him!"

"Damn it! He's Zhao Gao, who served Qin Er Shi! He's Zhang Rang, who served Emperor Huan! He's Huang Hao, who served the last emperor of Shu!"

Thanks to the scripts she had filmed and read over this period, she finally learned the origins of these treacherous officials and used them in a sensationalist washing machine.

“Impotent rage.” Boss Lu picked up the two children, one in each arm, and sat them in the middle of one side of the long table, a safe distance from the bubbling hot pot. The two babies looked at the copper pot with curiosity, full of curiosity.

"What were you guys talking about just now? The Spring Festival Gala?"

"Yes!" Liu Yifei finally got to eat some leafy greens after eating for a while. "Should I go or not? Both of my superiors mentioned it, although they both said it was up to me."

This casualness is genuine; it's not the sarcastic tone of a leader. They are only responsible for relaying messages and repaying favors; they have no intention of taking responsibility themselves.

"Go ahead, go ahead! I'm so bored by myself!" Da Tiantian fawned over the hostess, serving her food. "We can sneak away early after our performance and come back for hot pot and fireworks! Isn't that great!"

She was determined to seize any opportunity to spend the Spring Festival with a group of relatives in her hometown of Xi'an, watching her uncles and elders give speeches and toast, which was quite boring.

Besides, it had been too long since she had seen the babies. Jing Tian wiped her mouth, then smelled herself. The smell wasn't too strong. She walked gracefully to Lu Kuan's side and said, "Teacher Lu, let me hug them!"

The little traitor Tiedan had already reached out his hand in the habit. He didn't know why Aunt Tiantian could always make him feel some "childhood" warmth. In his less than 20 months of life, he was able to fall asleep occasionally in the warm embrace of his aunt for at least 10 months.

Youyou didn't resist, but she clung to her father more than others, turning her head away and proudly refusing.

"I'm so sad, Youyou never talks to me." Da Tiantian pouted pitifully.

"You'll get used to it. She only recognizes her father, especially now that she's started learning to paint."

Jing Tian was shocked: "What? She's not even two years old and she's already learning to draw? Can she even hold a pen properly?"

"It all started when I saw her dad draw a sketch last time. Of course, she's just blindly imitating, and she's still just doodling on her own," Liu Yifei laughed. "But in someone's eyes, they say their daughter has a lot of artistic talent!" (Chapter 610)
"What do you know!" Mr. Lu's face showed the unique, slightly silly arrogance of a father as he carried his daughter and strode to the children's area in the corner of the living room.

When she returned, she was carrying a small, lightweight drawing board covered with "artwork" painted with washable, thick-tipped children's paints.
A large, almost enclosed orange circle occupies the center of the image, with wild blue swirls painted inside.

Outside the circle are several fluttering, seemingly random green lines, like wings or flames.

The paint is layered thickly in some places and thinly in others, revealing the underlying color of the paper. The brushstrokes are completely unrestrained and full of power, like those of a child.

Seeing the tender father and daughter in front of her, Liu Yifei felt a pang of jealousy, but suppressed a laugh and retorted, "What do I know? This is clearly graffiti!"

Previously, he would have showered his daughter with compliments on her work, but now the main issue is breaking up the close father-daughter relationship.

Either you can carry yourself, or you can carry Yoyo!

"Jing Tian, ​​what do you think?" Boss Lu directly sought the opinion of a third party.

This kind of question was a piece of cake for Da Tiantian. She leaned closer to Youyou with a look of amazement, "Youyou is so great! The drawing is so beautiful! The colors, the shapes, the imagination, it's amazing!"

"I can't count on you telling me the truth in this lifetime," Xiao Liu laughed. "You two, one blindly confident, the other deliberately flattering, is that the right way to raise children?"

"You, your artistic thinking is as superficial as your beauty!" Boss Lu commented lightly on his wife, then solemnly analyzed his daughter's debut work:
“Look at this closed orange circle. For a toddler who is less than 20 months old, being able to draw a nearly closed circle is proof of her hand-eye coordination and spatial perception. It means that she has begun to consciously define a picture space, which is the beginning of her compositional awareness.”

"Heh! Jing Tian, ​​watch closely." Liu Yifei sneered, "You're one of the few people who can see how the richest man flatters others, so learn from him!" Da Tian Tian smiled and didn't say anything. In fact, she had heard this shameless couple clapping for love many times. Although it wasn't a clapping action, it was similar in spirit.

"After looking at the composition, look at the colors and layers." Boss Lu remained unmoved, showering his eldest daughter, who couldn't understand a word, with flattery:
"She didn't choose colors randomly. Orange is a warm color, representing sunshine, vitality, and happiness; she chose to fill the interior with a cool color like blue, creating a subtle contrast between warmth enveloping calmness, or rather, rationality within a passionate core."

“And look at these blue brushstrokes.” The great artist pointed to the swirling patterns. “These aren’t flat washes. They’re directional, rotating, and full of dynamism, which shows that she was full of emotion and had a strong desire to express herself when she painted. And these few strokes of green on the outside, don’t they look like a force trying to break through the boundaries? They add dynamism and vitality to the stable circular structure.”

Xiao Liu went on a rampage, criticizing: "Wow, wow! You could run for President of the United States! You're a better braggart than them!"

Da Tian Tian and her mother-in-law listened and chuckled. Tie Dan, however, had no intention of vying for favor at the moment. He was completely absorbed in his aunt Tian Tian's soft breasts.

"Hmph!" Lu Kuan remained serious: "Don't you think this orange circle looks a lot like the sun? The blue vortex inside is the sea of ​​clouds, and the green outside is the light and all things growing."

"These are all pictographs of what the world looks like as she has observed it over the past 20 months; they are the most primitive intuitive expressions that have not been contaminated by the adult symbol system."

The washing machine proudly declared: "Let me tell you, this ability to express oneself directly through color and shape is something many accomplished painters strive for but cannot attain! It's the same principle as making a film; some things can be taught, while others are purely intuitive!"

Having just finished eating hotpot, the father resisted the urge to kiss his daughter's fair face. Instead, he proudly placed her little painting in the honor cabinet in the living room, which contained award certificates he and his wife had received over the years.

Looking at the sleepy little one in her arms, Jing Tian couldn't help but sigh, "Tiedan, Auntie is so worried! What do you have to compete with your sister for affection?"

The crowd found it amusing, and Liu Yifei no longer hid her jealousy. She laughed loudly and stepped forward, trying to snatch her daughter away from her husband.

"Give her to me! You're not allowed to hug her!"

"Run, Yoyo! The wicked queen is going to give you a poisoned apple!" Lu Kuan dodged left and right while holding his daughter. "She wants to be the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Youyou just thought her parents were playing some fun game and kept giggling. She was a little nervous and imagined Liu Yifei, who was grinning, as the villain.

Yes, he is indeed a villain who wants to separate the father and daughter.

"No, give me some advice! Are you going to the Spring Festival Gala or not?" Liu Yifei joked with her husband and daughter for a while, then pulled him to sit on the sofa and watched Youyou playing with a cloth book on the carpet.

The washing machine started playing on its phone again. Hearing this, it looked up and smiled, "It's up to you, but what can you do there?"

"Singing? Dancing? Or telling jokes?"

"Don't look down on me!"

Xiao Liu arrogantly raised her chin at Da Tian Tian: "You dare to look down on our Very Sweet Duo? You'll be blinded by our brilliance!"

Speaking of which, the "Very Sweet" group is about the same age as Youyou Tiedan. They were formed against the backdrop of Hunan and Taiwan "colluding" with Penguin to massively introduce Korean pop culture into "Penguin Ranch," with Liu Yifei leading the organization, intending to use dance training as a postpartum recovery method. (Chapter 526)
Liu Xiaoli, a veteran artist who has won the Wenhua Award and the Five-One Project Award, is the artistic director and choreographer.

However, this group was sometimes together and sometimes apart. Before Liu Yifei returned to filming "The Book of Peace", Da Tiantian and Su Chang, who had finished filming "Inception", often came to visit their best friend and exercised together in the gym.

We haven't gotten together for a proper dance session much in the past six months.

For them, it was an opportunity to practice and admire themselves in front of the mirror with their best friends. The audience was usually Liu Xiaoli and her two innocent babies.

If you let Youyou and Tiedan see it now, they'll probably imitate it.

"Huh?" The washing machine suddenly looked his wife and Da Tiantian, who was holding their son, up and down with a serious expression.

Liu Yifei snapped fiercely, "What are you looking at! You have a problem with that? If you're not happy, let's have a go!"

"What are you talking about!" Lu Kuan laughed. "I've seen a business opportunity. How about the three of you do some advertising for WeChat?"

"Huh? What ad? Didn't WeChat just update its version?" Xiao Liu suddenly remembered that he had been waving his phone around since before dinner, so WeChat must have told him about some new beta feature.

Da Tiantian looked at him curiously, but dancing was no challenge for her. Among the three, Su Chang was the worst, Liu Yifei was second, and she was the best.

Boss Lu ignored his wife and looked at his mother-in-law first: "Mom, why don't you get involved in the choreography and give them a style that's not like the flirtatious Korean wave, but a cool girl style? This is the Spring Festival Gala stage after all."

It's fine for a few girls to flirt a little when they're dancing alone behind closed doors, or for Xiao Liu and her husband to play around in their bedroom, but it's not suitable for a wide audience.

"How would I know anything about this stuff with you young people?" Liu Xiaoli laughed. "But you can find a modern dancer to choreograph it, and I can participate by adding some Chinese elements."

"But if we're talking about the sexy and cool aspects of K-pop..." The old artist tried to understand these popular elements, and also looked her daughter up and down, while her daughter was still holding her own daughter in her arms.

She designed the image of Xiao Liu in her mind, and then used that as a starting point to brainstorm movements and choreography.

"Mom, look at her profile. She's actually quite suited to this style. It's the same principle as Gu Nan!"

Lu Kuan also stood up and joined his mother-in-law in "appreciating" his wife. He pinched Xiao Liu's pretty cheek as if he were looking at his daughter's painting.
"A standard oval face with a clear bone structure, and the cheekbones and brow bones are very three-dimensional. As long as the contours of the eyebrows and eyes are emphasized in the creative process, that cool and unapproachable vibe will come out."

"If I were to design her look, it would only be two colors, red and black, there would be no third."

"Black highlights a mysterious and cool sense of power; bright red can also command the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, adding a touch of festive passion and flamboyance. Makeup should be clean, emphasizing the contours and lines of the eyebrows and eyes. Lip color can be bright red or matte nude. Hair should be tied into a high ponytail or neat shoulder-length hair, without too many stray hairs to decorate it."

With just a few words, a "cool girl" is already emerging.

Liu Xiaoli looked at her eldest daughter and agreed wholeheartedly. Then she glanced at Jing Tian and said with a hint of regret, "The worst thing about forming a trio as you suggested is that Qianqian has grown quite a bit taller after giving birth. At 172cm, she's a bit shorter than Tiantian and Changchang, which affects the overall harmony."

Jing Tian exclaimed excitedly, "It's okay! She's wearing flats, and we'll wear heels!"

She was naturally happy to debut on the Spring Festival Gala with Liu Yifei, dancing and having fun. For her, working alone was work, but playing with her best friend was fun.

"Are you dressing up a doll? You managed to get me all dressed up in just a few words?" Xiao Liu chuckled as she patted her daughter's back. The little girl was already getting sleepy, while Tie Dan in Jing Tian's arms had been drooling in her sleep.

Liu Xiaoli, already absorbed in her creative process, ignored her and continued analyzing the situation:

"The essence of K-pop dance lies in rhythm and expressiveness, but it does often emphasize sexiness through hip twists, hip thrusts, waves, and suggestive eye contact."

"If you want to go for a cool and beautiful style, you have to do the opposite. The core is gender de-sexization and a sense of power."

The dancer demonstrated a few movements: "The Spring Festival Gala stage still needs to showcase some national treasures. The rhythm of Chinese classical dance emphasizes the extension and control of the body, rather than soft curves. The beginning and ending of each movement should be like the pause in calligraphy, powerful and decisive."

Lu Kuan inquired, "Could you design some body swaying or shaking movements? I need them to cooperate with the new WeChat features."

His idea was to integrate this new feature with the dance elements so that it wouldn't seem so abrupt.

“Sure, these are all standard moves. We can just vary them to make them stand out more,” Liu Xiaoli nodded.

"The everyday shaking motion is abstracted into the power source and movement trajectory of dance. It is not a simple left and right swaying, but a unified and elastic shaking with the central axis of the torso as the core, driving the shoulders, chest, waist and hips to form a whole."

"If we use the power generation method of classical dance, this movement should originate from the root, be transmitted through the middle, and reach the tip."

Boss Lu clapped his hands happily: "That's great! That's so professional! I think it's excellent!"

Liu Yifei hadn't forgotten his original intention: "Is this what you just said, that we should perform a show to advertise WeChat?"

"Yup!"

What new feature is this on WeChat?

Shake it!

In the living room, apart from Lu Kuan himself, no one could understand what he was saying.

2011 was a pivotal year for China's smartphone penetration rate to experience explosive growth.

Although feature phones still account for a considerable proportion, mid-to-high-end smartphones, represented by iPhones and Android phones, have already penetrated the core population of young people and white-collar workers in first- and second-tier cities. Although the user base is far from reaching its peak, it is enough to support an initial market with explosive potential.

The accelerometer and GPS module commonly found in these devices provide a solid hardware foundation for the "shake" function.

The "shake" feature during the Spring Festival Gala in February was only a few months earlier than the previous version of Tencent's "shake" feature. While there may not be many mobile phone users who can participate in "shake" right now, the impact is huge and could even boost sales of the new HarmonyOS phone to be released at the end of the year.

It was featured as an initial advertisement in the drama "My Love from the Star," and was integrated with WeChat through product placement.

Thanks to the strategic planning and opportunistic actions of their boss, the WeChat team at Wenjie was able to seize the opportunity presented by the Golden Horse Awards to launch the voice call function. If they had further amplified this with the "Shake" feature and the subsequent "Drift Bottle" activity on the Spring Festival Gala stage, generating even more buzz and traffic...

The penguins must be feeling desperate; this is no longer just a matter of being "a step too late" as they believe themselves.

In China today, is there any larger advertising platform than the Spring Festival Gala?

New Year's Eve is the time when Chinese people have the most intensive interpersonal interactions and the strongest need to send blessings. The "shake" function can be combined with the creative ideas of "New Year's greetings" or "shaking for red envelopes", which is highly consistent with the festive atmosphere of "joy, reunion and blessing" of the Spring Festival Gala.

In this context, promotional activities transform functionality from a cold, impersonal tool into something imbued with emotional warmth and a sense of festive ritual, significantly lowering the psychological barrier for users.

Of course, what features will be added to the "shake" function for marketing purposes during the Spring Festival Gala depends on whether the objective technical environment can achieve more complex "tricks," but this basic function has an audience.

Liu Yifei listened to her husband's rambling business talk and was somewhat bewildered.

Those who haven't experienced the user-generating effects and user experience of "shake" and "message in a bottle" in the primitive era cannot understand the terrifying nature of this "can eat meat" function.

But Xiao Liu did grasp the core meaning: "See? He was discussing dance art, but his mind immediately turned to making money."

The mother-in-law chimed in with a laugh: "Oh dear, with two little monsters at home and your darling wife to support, it's understandable that you need to think more about making money."

Boss Lu slapped his thigh: "I'll go to the company this afternoon and talk to Zhang Xiaolong. You can reply to him that he can participate, but the specific format and the advertising matter need to be discussed with the program team by Wenjie."

"If they agree, we'll go; if they don't, we'll just stay home, have our New Year's Eve dinner, and play with the kids. We won't get involved."

"I understand. I'll call Zhang Heping back and do him this favor." Liu Yifei was also shrewd; she understood the principle of using someone else's resources to benefit others, and of course, she wanted to give this advantage to her own people.

I can use my wife's washing machine again, and also my wife's best friend and my child's aunt.

As for whether the Spring Festival Gala production team will agree to the demands of the questioning party...

It shouldn't be a question with any suspense.

(End of this chapter)