After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 82 "Rare Characters" (Seeking first subscriptions and monthly votes!)

"He agreed?"

"emmm..."

"Didn't agree?"

Before the start of the "Filmmakers Awards" gala, everyone was busy. After searching for a long time, senior actor Zhou Chujian finally found his seat and greeted a colleague with a smile. Then, he turned around and communicated with his agent with a gloomy face.

“It’s not that he didn’t agree, he also has his difficulties. After all, the event is organized by CCTV, and he’s on the invitation list. How could he not go?” Agent Liu Wei said helplessly, “But I’ve made our intentions very clear. His agent has also called him. Even if he goes, he probably won’t bring out anything too good. We’ve made so many preparations in advance, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

"What about the performance later?" Zhou Chujian's lips twitched, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Well..." Liu Wei scratched his head, thought for a long time, and then comforted Zhou Chujian, saying, "It's just a performance, it doesn't matter. Whether we can get good segments or not depends on the songs at the audition, that's the main thing."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chujian's face darkened, and he couldn't help but complain, "You really went there for nothing!"

All he did was take Wei Zihan to apologize, and he didn't get a single real task done...

Liu Wei's lips twitched. How could he have known that Shen Ming'en would be so difficult to deal with, so hard to communicate with, and so lacking in social skills?

"No, I'm telling you, Jian, can't you have a little confidence?" Seeing that he hadn't handled things well and was being complained about by Zhou Chujian, Liu Wei simply changed the subject, saying, "How much money did you spend on that song? How many people did you nurture? How much effort did you put in to finally finalize it? We invited several professors from the Chinese departments of Tsinghua and Fudan Universities. You know how meticulous we were in researching the lyrics and music. Why did we have to ask that universally disliked stinking dog Shi?"

"If he cooperates, all the better; if he doesn't, we're not afraid at all. You've been in this industry for so many years, how come you're getting worse as you get older..."

He actually wanted to say that the older people get, the more they act like turtles, how can they be so cowardly? But in the end, he was too embarrassed to say it.

However, Zhou Chujian perfectly understood the meaning. Although he wasn't happy to hear it, Liu Wei's words were indeed reasonable...

When a person reaches a certain age, they really can't afford to experience setbacks, otherwise the composure and confidence that come from years of accumulated experience will be shattered in an instant.

After Liu Wei said that, Zhou Chujian also felt that he might have been a bit too cowardly and overestimated Shen Ming'en.

He's just a young man who wrote a few revolutionary songs and just became famous. He's only in his early twenties and doesn't understand social etiquette at all. Why should I take him so seriously?

When I first became famous, this kid was still being breastfed in his mother's arms!

"The strategist is absolutely right!" he said.

Then, during the subsequent performance on stage, she surprisingly delivered a level of singing that surpassed her previous practice sessions.

Although it wasn't as breathtaking as Shen Ming'en's live performance of "My People, My Country," it was still a very memorable performance.

His exceptional performance boosted Zhou Chujian's confidence even further, and for a moment he seemed to have rediscovered the state of his youth...

I feel confident that I will shine brightly at tonight's audition!
What the hell is Emperor Ming'en? In front of him, all the geniuses would pale in comparison!
Who says an aging emperor can't live a second life?!

……

The gala was held as scheduled and was very lively. The organizers treated Shen Ming'en quite well. From picking him up at the airport upon his arrival in Beijing and checking him into the hotel to the various treatments and cooperation during the rehearsals, everything was commendable. Therefore, Shen Ming'en did not cause any trouble during the performance, which can be considered as giving the organizers enough face.

Of course, the organizer's influence is only one aspect; another is that there are some program organizing teams from CCTV and other media outlets involved...

The man in the front row, wearing glasses, with a lean physique and dressed in a black suit, is Bai Zhen, the chief director of the "Guoyu Guoyun" program, which is soliciting promotional songs from singers like Shen Ming'en.

As someone who plans to take the civil service exam in the future, Emperor Ming En may look down on the capital in the Chinese entertainment industry. No matter how rich he is, he would dare to ask them to call him "godfather." However, he must respect the leaders.

After the gala ended, led by the organizers, Shen Ming'en, along with some musicians who had been invited to attend the listening session for the promotional song of the "Guoyu Guoyun" program, went to a meeting room backstage.

Although it was called a conference room, it was quite large, giving the feeling of an open-plan lecture hall. Some senior executives from the organizers and a group of industry veterans surrounded Director Bai Zhen as they entered the venue, treating him like a star and placing him in the center position.

Next came some fairly standard speeches from the leaders. Perhaps it was because it was so late, but to be honest, Shen Ming'en was starting to feel sleepy. He wondered if he was being a little drowsy, but then he heard a strange sound. He turned his head and saw, well, the guy next to him was snoring away…

"9!" Shen Ming'en couldn't help but exclaim, this guy is really amazing.

It's worth mentioning that while Shen Ming'en was sitting in the audience listening to the leaders speak, he always felt that several gazes were being cast at him from different directions...

Some of the questions came from Zhou Chujian and his assistant Liu Wei, while others came from the speakers on stage.

Standing next to Bai Zhen, the chief director of the "National Language and Rhyme" program, was a tall, middle-aged man with long eyelashes, a high nose bridge, and a pale, somewhat sickly face. His teeth were snow-white and even, and when he smiled, his white teeth were so striking that they were almost unrecognizable. He gave off the air of a gentle and refined scholar, with elegant manners and an air of artistry in every gesture.

"Who is this guy?" Shen Ming'en couldn't help but ask his colleague.

He didn't remember ever interacting with the other person, and his past self had almost no contact with anyone from the central government, so why was this uncle staring at him?

It wasn't just this moment; he'd felt this older man staring at him during his performances before. Back then, he was the main character on stage, so it was normal for him to be stared at. But now, with so many people in the audience, the man was the only one being stared at, which made him a little uneasy...

What's going on?

“I don’t know…” The musician next to him shook his head inwardly and said frankly, “I heard he’s a friend of Director Bai, from the National Peking Opera Company.”

"The Peking Opera?" Shen Ming'en scratched his head...

Then it would be even more impossible for them to get to know each other.

The predecessor didn't have this connection to anyone in the Peking Opera Company.

But to be fair, this uncle really does look like a Peking Opera singer; the saying "men get more charming with age" really applies to him.

For some reason, Shen Ming'en always felt that this uncle looked somewhat similar to Yao Shuli.

Glug glug, in a moment of drifting thoughts, Shen Ming'en's anus tightened...

"Fuck..."

His lips twitched. "Damn it, to prevent Chen Jia from poisoning him, Shen Ming'en has been drinking unopened room-temperature mineral water for the past few days. Drinking cold water all day long, he must have a stomach problem."

That little horny belly is growling at the worst possible time!

The audition is about to start, what the hell are you shouting for now!
What left him speechless was that the more this little slut thought about it, the louder it became. He couldn't let Shi suffocate him, so Shen Ming'en had no choice but to tell the staff around him, then burst out of the door and head straight for the bathroom.

This seemed to be one of those venues that had been built for many years; the equipment was all outdated. The restrooms inside were clean and didn't smell, but when Shen Ming'en opened the door to the cubicle, his lips twitched...

First one: Strawberry Tart.

Second: Millet and Pumpkin Porridge.

The third one was red. Shen Ming'en thought someone was inside, but when he pulled the doorknob, it opened...

The cleanliness inside gave the anxious Hajin a sense of salvation. However, after squatting down for a while, he discovered a problem: the lock on the cubicle seemed to be the reverse of the red and green indicator outside. When someone was inside and the door was locked, the outside indicator was green, and when no one was inside, it was red.

"What a lousy place..."

After making a few brief complaints, Shen Ming'en pursed his lips and thought to himself, even if the outside indicator shows green, if someone comes and can't open the door, how can they not know there's someone inside? How can they force their way in?

What left Shen Ming'en completely bewildered was...

Just as he was basking in the superior experience that Wallace Hospital had provided, he heard footsteps outside. Shortly after the door to the cubicle next to him was pushed open, the door in front of him was pulled several times.

"Eh?"

The person couldn't pull it open and looked puzzled, then strained a few more times. People like that are the most annoying when you're taking a dump. Why the hell are you still trying if you can't pull it open?

"Someone's here!" Shen Ming'en shouted impatiently.

"Ah..." The person outside the door seemed a little embarrassed at first upon hearing his words, but quickly seemed to be somewhat unconvinced, saying:

"If someone's there, just say so! What kind of attitude is that...?"

Emperor Ming En was also annoyed at that moment, and replied irritably, "Didn't I already tell you?"

The person outside seemed to be in the wrong, but wanted to argue back, so they retorted, "Then I wouldn't have known the sign on the doorknob was broken..."

Shen Ming'en retorted, "Is that my fault? I broke it!"

The cockroach's bullying nature is on full display.

"You..." The person outside the door was speechless for a moment, seemingly unsure how to refute, and finally came back to Shen Ming'en, saying, "Then say something!"

Shen Ming'en also tried to smooth things over, saying, "Didn't I already tell you?"

This kid is arrogant and domineering; he has absolutely no kindness towards strangers!
The man outside the door sounded like a middle-aged man, with a strong presence. At his age, he had a bit of experience and started putting on airs everywhere, as if he thought that even a young man like Shen Ming'en had to respect him.

Therefore, even if they offend others without thinking, they still want others to treat them well...

If someone yanks on your door while you're taking a dump, are you going to be nice?!
Stupid...

Shen Ming'en's few words infuriated Zhong Deng. Perhaps feeling guilty, Zhong Deng realized that his actions of repeatedly pulling on the door when he couldn't reach it were foolish and lacked manners. Therefore, he stopped arguing with Shen Ming'en and stormed out.

About ten minutes later, Shen Ming'en came out of the restroom. Afraid of delaying important matters, he even ran back to the venue, only to find out when he got back that...

Damn, Director Bai hasn't finished speaking yet!
Shen Ming'en pouted: "I should have pulled it a little longer..."

Forget it, I might as well follow the example of the guy next to me, take a break and recharge my energy.

With his hands folded, Shen Ming'en was about to lie down and rest for a while when he suddenly felt a thorn in his back...

Shen Ming'en initially thought it was Zhou Chujian and his group, but upon turning his head, he realized it was the charismatic middle-aged man from the Peking Opera troupe who had been staring at him on stage earlier...

The uncle was on stage before, but somehow he went down to the audience. He sat in front of Shen Ming'en and looked back at Shen Ming'en. Because it was a tiered conference room, the scene was very obvious, and many people on and off the stage noticed it.

It's worth mentioning that after noticing this scene, the middle-aged man not only made no attempt to hide it, but his gaze towards Shen Ming'en also became exceptionally sharp, seemingly harboring some ill intent...

Shen Ming'en: "???"

Emperor Ming'en racked his brains but still couldn't figure out what the hell he had done to offend this old man!

Please!

Go outside and take a dump!
I went out to take a dump, and when I came back you were giving me such a resentful look!

Am I wrong for taking a dump?!

Who the hell doesn't need to take a dump?!
"What is Mr. Yao staring at that guy Hajime for?" Zhou Chujian, who noticed this, couldn't help but discuss it with his familiar colleague.

"Hehehe..." His colleague revealed a "watching the show" expression and said with a smile, "Isn't his daughter currently creating a CP with that guy? No wonder the father can't look at him with kindness."

Seeing this, Zhou Chujian couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking to himself that Mr. Yao wasn't very satisfied with this kid, Shen Ming'en...

That's great!
Mr. Yao has a close relationship with Director Bai. If he has a problem with Shen Ming'en, he will definitely whisper in Director Bai's ear during the audition later.

The show is supposed to be a vote by the entire audience, but frankly, it depends on the opinions of the two leaders. Whichever song they think is better will be the one chosen. So if Mr. Yao has a problem with Shen Ming'en, it would be a huge good thing for Zhou Chujian!

"It's safe...it's safe!"

At this moment, Zhou Chujian thought to himself, "If I had known, I wouldn't have sent my agent to take Wei Zihan to apologize to Shen Mingen. It was completely unnecessary!"

Amidst laughter, the audition quickly began.

The program, which is overseen by Director Bai and is called "Guoyu Guoyun," aims, as the name suggests, to promote Chinese language and the national language. Therefore, the promotional songs needed also need to be related to language.

Chinese civilization spans five thousand years, and Chinese characters have a history of over six thousand years. This profound heritage has nurtured a wealth of language and culture, and the content available for creative work is countless.

The guests who took the stage to audition were simply a mixed bag, with some using references to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, others to the calligrapher Wang Xizhi, and still others to Cangjie inventing characters...

When it comes to language and culture, it's more memorable and recognizable to mention historical figures associated with writing rather than just writing itself. These people were all quite intelligent, but as the saying goes, there's always someone better, and there are many talented individuals here as well...

Some people look for entry points in the strokes of the characters, while others focus on the pronunciation. One musician who has successfully transitioned to stand-up comedy plays with puns in his lyrics, creating humorous and witty songs that are sure to make listeners applaud.

It's easy to see that everyone present is quite skilled, and they've all shown their best abilities. This made Shen Ming'en sigh, "No wonder there are no lousy people invited by CCTV's propaganda program."

Compared to them, every single singer from the "Chinese Music Awards" is a total scoundrel!
The night was deep, but the audition was in full swing. Director Bai and Mr. Yao in the front row exchanged pleasantries several times, clearly very satisfied with the works of several contestants and already making a selection...

It was at this moment that veteran Zhou Chujian took the stage.

This person was arguably the most eye-catching one at the event. It seemed that everyone knew that Zhou Chujian had made a lot of preparations for this audition, and even invited some professors from the Chinese departments of prestigious universities to polish his lyrics word by word. Therefore, even Director Bai and Mr. Yao looked at him with anticipation.

Zhou Chujian certainly did not disappoint. The song he presented, "Sparrow's Food," was of very high quality. The lyrics were written in classical Chinese, with each word and phrase carefully crafted, giving it a textbook feel. The arrangement incorporated a large number of traditional Chinese instruments such as the flute, guzheng, and pipa, making it catchy and easily recognizable.

Once his work comes out, you feel like the guy who sang the pun in front of you is just a clown, like he's just there to mess around!

"Clap clap clap..."

After Zhou Chujian finished his audition, a round of applause erupted in the audience, and Director Bai and Mr. Yao seemed to have "satisfaction" written all over their faces.

Now that the audition is coming to an end, given Zhou Chujian's stage presence, he will most likely be the top performer of the night, and his song will probably be chosen as the promotional song for the program "Guoyu Guoyun".

As he stepped off the stage, Senior Zhou strode confidently, giving Shen Ming'en a disdainful glance as he passed by, as if to say, "You little brat, you're asking for it. Even if you don't do what I'm supposed to do, this promotional song spot will still end up in my hands..."

Shen Ming'en dismissed this with disdain.

The host's voice came from the stage: "Next up is... Mr. Shen Ming'en, please come up on stage."

It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? After Zhou Chujian, Shen Ming'en came right after.

"Language? That's interesting..."

Shen Ming'en stood up, straightened his clothes, and thought happily:
"Then I'll give you a little bit of Chinese-style shock."

Language...

Literature...

You want to make things complicated and cumbersome, right?

If I were to present you with a poem on rare characters, how would you respond?
……

I'm begging for all kinds of monthly tickets and recommendation votes!!!
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(End of this chapter)