1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

Huo Sheng, who was just passing by, asked directly.

Liang Rongjun had been lingering near the studio for a while. When he saw that the person who came was a young man, he said, "I'm looking for a screenwriter surnamed Huo."

Who are you?

"My name is Liang Rongjun, and I work for Cinepoly Records."

They actually came in person.

Huo Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he took the initiative to extend his hand, smiling as he said, "I am Huo Sheng."

"So you are?"

"Yes, that's me."

Liang Rongjun was stunned. Although he was mentally prepared, the girl was still far too young. Even training courses or university wouldn't be enough for her. He remained uncertain. "Are you the lead screenwriter?"

"Yes, we're filming right now."

"He's so young and promising!"

Leung Wing-Chun sighed. Although he worked for a record company, he had a basic understanding of the industry. It was truly remarkable that someone so young could get this position at TVB.

"plz follow me."

Seeing the noise in the studio, Huo Sheng led him towards the production building, asking knowingly as they walked, "Mr. Liang, what brings you here today?"

"Oh, I see."

Liang Rongjun followed behind Huo Sheng, "I heard that you recently bought the adaptation rights to Miyuki Nakajima's 'Luju' from Jiayin Records, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Our company is currently producing an album for a new singer, and we were wondering if you'd consider reselling this song?"

Leung Wing-Chun spoke frankly.

"Resell it?" Huo Sheng shook his head. "Mr. Liang, I have no intention of reselling it."

Liang Rongjun frowned and said urgently, "We can add another 50,000 to your offer."

"I really like this song myself. When I bought it, I planned to keep it for myself." Huo Sheng pushed open the glass door of the production building, stepped aside to let Liang Rongjun in before letting go. "Our new drama, 'The Great Era,' will be broadcast in October, but we haven't decided on the theme song yet."

The melody of this song perfectly matches several of the romantic storylines in the drama.

Leung Wing-Chun caught up and suddenly asked, "Was it that snow scene from earlier?"

"Did you just look at it?"

"I glanced at it a few times while waiting in the studio," Liang Rongjun said. "The visuals and the melody matched very well."

Huo Sheng was somewhat surprised, "You know about this?"

"It's actually the same as when we shoot a music video."

Liang Rongjun smiled.

He is considered one of Hong Kong's top independent music producers. Many of Faye Wong, Leslie Cheung, Beyond, and Eason Chan's hit albums were produced by him, so he is quite knowledgeable in the field.

The two entered the elevator one after the other. Huo Sheng pressed the floor button, and the elevator began to slowly ascend.

The cramped space was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of the cable being pulled coming from above.

Leaning against the elevator wall, Liang Rongjun couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Have you found a suitable singer yet? The theme song can't be sung by no one."

"Well, it's not decided yet."

"If you don't mind, I can recommend someone."

Liang Rongjun pondered for a moment and said, "There is a singer named Wang Jingwen who just returned from the United States. Her voice is very distinctive and she is not one of those mass-produced singers."

This song suits you perfectly, and it suits your film perfectly too.

Seeing Liang Rongjun acting like a sheep obediently entering its cage, Huo Sheng laughed and said, "That's quite a coincidence."

"If you're willing, we can cooperate."

Leung Wing-Chun continued, "We'll handle the arrangement, recording, and post-production all in one go. When the time comes, you'll license the song to us, and we'll pay you royalties. The theme song will be licensed to you for free, so no one loses out."

The elevator doors opened, and the corridor was quiet.

Huo Sheng pushed open the door and led Liang Rongjun into his office. Ning Wan was not there; a stack of manuscript papers was piled on the table.

"Sit down, don't be shy."

Huo Sheng pulled over a chair, rummaged through the cabinet, found half a packet of tea leaves, and brewed tea in two cups.

Liang Rongjun sat down, took the cup with both hands, and without drinking, asked, "Mr. Huo, what do you think of the cooperation method I just mentioned?"

How are royalties distributed?

"That's easy to say, it's industry practice, 3% wholesale price."

"3% is too little."

Huo Sheng shook his head.

Liang Rongjun's smile faded, and he hesitated before saying, "Mr. Huo, three points is already the normal rate."

"That's the rate for buying only music."

Huo Sheng leaned back in his chair and couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Liang, if I were just transferring the adaptation rights to you and you found someone to write the lyrics, 3% wouldn't be a big deal, but it's not like that now."

Liang Rongjun frowned slightly: "So what do you want?"

"I wrote the lyrics myself," Huo Sheng said. "The copyright of the lyrics belongs to me, and the entire song's lyrics and music are in my hands."

You will receive a complete piece of music; there's no need to find someone else to write the lyrics.

"You wrote the lyrics yourself?"

Leung Wing-Chun asked in surprise, "Have you ever written lyrics?"

"No, but I'm a professional when it comes to writing."

Huo Sheng said, "If you're worried, I can write down the first part of the lyrics for you right now, and then you can consider talking about the rest."

Liang Rongjun was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected him to say that.

"You mean... write it now?"

"right."

Huo Sheng pulled a blank sheet of paper from the table, picked up a pen, and said, "Give me ten minutes. Although my lyrics and music are not sold separately, dispelling your doubts will make our collaboration more pleasant."

This was a bit beyond Liang Rongjun's plans.

It's already strange enough for someone to come to TVB and talk to a screenwriter about buying songs, but now they want to include the lyrics as well, which is even stranger.

He stared at Huo Sheng for two seconds, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay, please write it down."

The office fell silent.

Huo Sheng lowered his head, the pen tip scratching softly on the paper. Liang Rongjun picked up his teacup, sipping slowly, his gaze fixed on Huo Sheng's pen tip, but he remained silent.

About fifteen minutes later, Huo Sheng put down his pen and handed over the paper.

Liang Rongjun took it and looked down at it.

"A heart that was once broken is now gently drawn close to you today."

So many comforts and questions, secretly reborn.

I couldn't help myself, but I actually belong to...

"An extremely vulnerable woman..."

"Easily Hurt Woman" was originally a song with lyrics by the master lyricist Poon Yuen Leung.

Technically, it's flawless, strictly adhering to the nine tones of Cantonese and the melody, with no reversed or irregular pronunciations, and the enunciation is smooth and easy to sing.

Its structure is neat and symmetrical, the sentence lengths are precisely matched to the musical phrases, and the language is extremely concise and without any piling up, making it a standard model for writing lyrics for commercial pop songs.

Emotionally, the writing is restrained and avoids sentimentality, gradually revealing the deep affection and the humility and sensitivity of someone who wants to break free but finds it difficult to do so. The characters are portrayed as soft and real, without being melodramatic yet highly penetrating.

Huo Sheng had nothing to worry about. He copied down the first paragraph of the lyrics verbatim, and even sighed dramatically. When he didn't hear any movement from the other side, he looked up.

Tsk.

Liang Rongjun had been silently humming the lyrics to himself several times, holding them close to his chest, extremely satisfied.