She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Good songs will grow legs on their own and travel faster than any capital.

Liu Yifei doesn't need any negative publicity to boost her popularity.

This is also why he has never urged Liu Yifei to accept a script.

First, let the group establish itself, let the music prove that she can return to the public eye, without relying on any company to protect her, without relying on any scandals to create hype, just relying on one polished song after another.

When Hechao Music's copyright library is filled with a hundred original songs, when every song has a firm foothold on the charts of major music platforms, when every melody has become a national phenomenon—on that day, will any fans still dare to step in and criticize?

Are there still marketing accounts that dare to write press releases to criticize others?

Are there any music critics who would dare to only talk about singing skills?

That's just plain brain-dead.

When a person has a strong public image and high national recognition, anti-fan articles are like stones hitting a steel plate; they bounce back and hurt the person who wrote them.

A few days later, Xiao He's phone lit up with a WeChat message from an unknown number, with the note "Director Yang Yang asked someone to pass on this message." He pulled the towel off his neck and draped it over the back of his chair, then opened the message.

Director Yang Yang's assistant posted a very formal statement saying that the OST production for the TV series "Ever Night" is in preparation. Producer Wang Yuren has joined forces with the Chinese OST label Ran Music to create the original soundtrack songs for the series, with mainland China's talented musician Wang Zhengliang serving as the director of original songs.

They have already listened to "Crossing the Line" and "Insomnia Flight" and hope to invite the HF group to create an OST for "Ever Night".

Ask him if he has time in the next couple of days to meet and chat.

This is the first truly meaningful commercial cooperation offer since the establishment of Hechao Music.

Moreover, what was handed over was one of the most important traditional Chinese style IPs of 2018.

Producer Wang Yuren has teamed up with the Chinese OST label Burning Music, with Wang Zhengliang personally serving as the director of original songs. Zhang Liangying and Wei Chen have already sung the theme song and character songs.

He forwarded the message to Liu Yifei, who replied instantly with three words: "Are you going or not?"

"Yes. We're meeting tomorrow afternoon."

The following afternoon, in the meeting room of an office building in Chaoyang District.

Director Yang Yang sat across the conference table, wearing a dark gray linen shirt, with neat short hair, and his fingers habitually tapped lightly on the table as he spoke.

Next to him was the head screenwriter, Zhang Wei, wearing metal-framed glasses, with a thick script outline spread out in front of him.

Sitting next to him is Wang Zhengliang, the OST director and a talented musician from mainland China. He personally served as the original song director for "Ever Night," overseeing the entire process from song conception and composition to post-production.

"We'd like to invite the HF group to participate in the production of the OST for 'Ever Night'," Yang Yang said bluntly. "The theme song 'Old Chang'an' has already been cast with Zhang Liangying, and the theme song for the character Master, 'Red Dust,' will be sung by Wei Chen. This song is based on Master and aims to convey the positive energy of 'maintaining a carefree attitude even amidst the chaos of the world' through Wei Chen's voice. However, we're still missing a love song for Ning Que Sang Sang. This song describes the relationship between the male and female protagonists, which fits your songwriting style perfectly."

Xiao He flipped through the music book in front of him, listening to Wang Zhengliang's explanation.

The production team collaborated with the Chinese OST label Burning Music to create the original soundtrack songs for the series. Wang Zhengliang, a talented musician from mainland China, served as the director of the original songs, overseeing the entire process from song conception and composition to post-production, ensuring the quality of the production.

To make the lyrics of the theme song "Old Chang'an" more evocative of "Ever Night," Wang Zhengliang collaborated with the series' producer, Wang Yuren, to create the song. The two used a playful narrative style from the lyrics to recount the story of "Ever Night" using modern grammar.

Xiao He did not answer immediately.

He flipped through a few pages of the script outline, closed it, and steered the conversation away from the main topic.

"There's nothing wrong with the song. But I heard that you and Mr. Zhang Wei are also preparing for another project."

Yang Yang glanced at him.

"What project?"

"The Dream of Splendor"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment. Zhang Wei adjusted his glasses and flipped through the script outline in front of him.

She pushed up her metal-framed glasses, looked at Xiao He, and her eyes held a new layer of scrutiny.

In recent years, she and Yang Yang have indeed been preparing a period drama series with a female protagonist, adapted from Guan Hanqing's Yuan Dynasty play "Zhao Pan'er Saves the Courtesan," but it has only reached the script framework stage so far, and even the investors have not been officially finalized. Almost no one outside the industry knows about the existence of this project.

How did you know?

"I heard about it from friends in the industry," Xiao He casually revealed. "OST, I can offer a buy-one-get-one-free deal."

Yang Yang put down her pen and slid her chair forward half an inch. "Buy one get one free"—that was a very straightforward statement. Having been a director for over twenty years, she had encountered people who brought their own funding, teams, and connections to the project.

But the "buy one get one free" approach, using one project to leverage another, was something she had never heard of before—a way of offering a pledge of allegiance, and the opponent wasn't an investor, but a musician.

"Buy the OST for 'Ever Night,' and get the OST for 'Dream of Splendor' for free. I'll buy the 'Ever Night' OST at market price. The 'Dream of Splendor' OST..." He leaned forward half an inch, smiled, and said, "It's free."

Wang Zhengliang couldn't help but chuckle.

He'd been in this industry for over a decade and heard all sorts of outlandish proposals, but this was the first time he'd ever heard of a "buy one get one free" OST that required an advance payment for a whole drama series.

However, he had heard the songs written by this kid. "Qilin" is a suona cleaving through the darkness, while "Insomnia Flight" is a piano base with layers of strings. He can handle two completely different tunes.

Xiao He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down.

"But I have one condition. And this condition is not because of the OST, but because of Hechao Music's long-term plan for the HF group."

"What are the conditions?"

"Filming for 'Meng Hua Lu' has started ahead of schedule. The female lead is Liu Yifei."

Yang Yang stopped writing completely. She leaned back in her chair, looked him over for a moment, and then slowly said, "Are you so sure that Liu Yifei is suitable for Zhao Pan'er?"

Xiao He didn't answer her directly; instead, he told her to audition.

Zhang Wei and Yang Yang exchanged a glance. For the past two years, they had been preparing for "The Dream of Splendor," searching for an actress to play Zhao Pan'er.

The character Zhao Pan'er needs to be both aloof and resilient, possess both ethereal beauty and down-to-earth charm, have a face that the audience can believe in, and also have eyes that can portray the weariness and struggle of climbing out of the abyss.

From last year's low point to this year's top spot on the charts, Liu Yifei has essentially played out the life of Zhao Pan'er through her experiences this past year.

Of course, Zhang Wei and Yang Yang are also aware that Liu Yifei is still labeled as "box office poison" by the outside world.

Both investors and producers have to take risks if they want to use her.

But for creative teams that truly want to make high-quality dramas, the experience of the actors is the most scarce asset. There will never be another top-tier actress who can portray a character who has climbed out of the bottom and taken the helm again as accurately as Liu Yifei.

It's said that there are high risks, but also high returns. If it succeeds, everyone will be happy, and the traffic will explode.

Xiao He straightened up and pointed to the script outline that Zhang Wei had crumpled up.

"For the OST of 'Dream of Splendor,' I will write a truly moving theme song. It will be about Zhao Pan'er, the teahouse, and the bridge over the Bian River. After I finish writing it, I will record a demo and send it to you. If you think it's suitable, use it. If you think it's not suitable, send the OST of 'Ever Night' to them, and you can choose someone else for 'Dream of Splendor.'"

Yang Yang put the pen away and placed it in her notebook. She said okay, two OSTs, sign them one by one.

Xiao He walked out of the office building; dusk was slowly settling along the East Third Ring Road in Beijing.

His phone vibrated a few times in his pocket. It was a WeChat message from Liu Yifei, containing only four words: "Did the deal go through?"

"Old Zhou has already gone to prepare the score. There's one more thing. I told Director Yang to ask you to audition for Zhao Pan'er in 'Dream Record'."

"You're crazy. With this label I have now, the capital is still boycotting and smearing me. Which big-budget TV drama director would dare to use me?"