She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Hengdian, Dazhi Temple.

The launch ceremony for "Meng Hua Lu" was held in the square in front of the Mahavira Hall.

Producer Wang Yuren said that this place is the first choice for all film crews in Hengdian to burn incense at the start of filming.

For over twenty years, hundreds of period dramas have burned incense here before filming began.

An offering table was set up in front of the hall, with incense burners and seasonal fruits on a red velvet cloth, and cameras covered with red cloth lined up in a row.

The crew of several hundred people crowded in the square. The group leader distributed Song Dynasty costumes to the extras in a corner, while the makeup team's assistants carried makeup cases and moved around the square.

Director Yang Yang and Zhang Wei stood at the front of the main creative team, and Liu Yan and Lin Yun were also already in position.

But everyone's eyes were unconsciously drawn to the center of the group.

Liu Yifei wore Zhao Pan'er's costume, a plain waist-length ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a smoky gray long jacket over it. Her hair was styled in the typical cloud-like bun of the Northern Song Dynasty, with no flowers in her hair, only a plain silver hairpin.

She stood there, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen, her posture dignified as if she had just stepped out of an ancient painting.

Xiao He stood beside her, wearing Gu Qianfan's costume.

He wore a dark, narrow-sleeved long robe, a leather belt around his waist, and his long hair was tied up with a crown.

The actor's headdress was much heavier than his everyday hat, and he instinctively reached out to adjust it, but Liu Yifei gently pressed down on the back of his hand: "Don't adjust it. The more you adjust it, the more crooked it will become. Turn it half an inch to the left."

"Thank you, sister."

Xiao He thanked him, their eyes conveying affection.

Liu Yifei glared at her: "There are so many cameras here. Don't cause trouble outside, be good."

Xiao He smiled but didn't reply; he simply lowered the hand that was supporting his crown.

Surrounded by people, Yang Yang, wearing a director's vest, was the first to stand in front of the offering table, holding three incense sticks in his hand. His voice was steady and powerful: "Today, filming for 'Meng Hua Lu' begins. May the entire crew be safe and successful. May this play live up to the name of Guan Hanqing. May every character live on in the hearts of the audience."

Everyone chanted in unison, "May the start-up be auspicious!"

Yang Yang abruptly ripped off the red cloth covering the camera, and firecrackers exploded in the open space in front of the hall, sending red confetti fluttering down. The producer led the entire crew in taking a group photo to mark the start of filming, and then the crew brought out a cake that had been prepared beforehand.

The main cast and crew cut a cake inscribed with "Wishing you a prosperous start to filming of 'Dream Record'". While everyone's attention was on the offering table, Xiao He, concealed by the sleeve of his long robe, subtly hooked her finger: "Wishing you a prosperous start to filming, Sister Pan'er."

"Good luck with the startup, Qianfan."

After Liu Yifei finished speaking, she laughed first, then lowered her voice and added, "I feel a little awkward when you call me that."

"What's wrong?"

"The script for the 'older woman/younger man' romance was revised by Zhang Wei; I heard it was your suggestion?"

I'll tell you quietly tonight.

The opening banquet was held in the largest private room in the Hengdian VIP Building.

The crew booked an entire floor. Yang Yang sat in the main seat, with Zhang Wei to her left and Wang Yuren to her right. Liu Yifei and Xiao He were seated directly opposite her.

The dishes on the table were exquisite, and after several rounds of toasts, the atmosphere had relaxed, but Yang Yang's glass of wine remained untouched.

Her attention was clearly not on the wine today.

Sure enough, after a few rounds of drinks, Yang Yang put his chopsticks down on the table and looked at Xiao He across the table full of bowls and plates.

"Xiao He, you told me last time that it was buy one get one free. Two OSTs: the Ning Que and Sang Sang theme love song from 'Ever Night', and the theme song from 'Dream of Splendor'."

She emphasized the word "there is still" very clearly, her tone implying that she was urging him to finish his homework.

"The only one from 'Ever Night' has been on the charts for several weeks, while for 'Dream of Splendor,' we haven't even seen a demo of our theme song yet."

Wang Yuren chimed in from the side: "When we applied to the investors for Hechao Production to produce the OST, I used your 'The Only One' as a success story to convince them. Now that I've fulfilled my promise, what about yours?"

"I've written the OST for 'Dream of Splendor,' and I brought it with me today so you can listen to it."

Xiao He stood up and asked the waiter for paper and pen.

"Want to order lyrics from the menu?" Zhang Wei took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, looking at him.

"Inspiration strikes regardless of the paper."

Xiao He leaned over the corner of the table, his pen flying across the paper as he muttered to himself, adjusting the rhymes.

The conversation in the private room gradually quieted down, and the clinking of chopsticks on the rim of the bowls also became less frequent.

Liu Yifei tilted her head to look at him, about to lean closer to see the words on the paper, when Liu Yan spoke first: "This is the first time I've seen Xiao He write a song on the spot, Sister Feifei, may I take a picture?"

"Sure, but why did you ask me?" Liu Yifei said with a smile.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he pushed the paper over. On the paper were the lyrics to "Those Were the Days."

"I still remember that year, that month, that fragrance of flowers; I still remember that time, that place, that girl. Having missed that day, that night, that flower-filled room, will she still sing for me...?"

Yang Yang picked up the paper and read it aloud word by word. When she got to the line "Young and reckless, what desires can one have when the sky is high?" her voice slowed down noticeably by half a beat. She gently placed the paper on the table and remained silent for a moment before speaking: "This poem has the flavor of opera. It captures the youthful spirit of Zhao Pan'er when she ran a teahouse in Qiantang."

"This song is about Zhao Pan'er's childhood. Her later resilience and maturity all stem from this. So I suggested that this song be used as background music in the scenes in the drama where Pan'er reminisces about the past."

Xiao He picked up his pen again and quickly wrote a few lines on the blank space of the lyrics paper.

"To match the atmosphere of the storyline, the chorus could be made into a Peking Opera version, performed by a female Peking Opera singer. In terms of arrangement, the verses would use guitar as a base to maintain the narrative feel of folk music. The chorus would then transition to Peking Opera vocals, gradually building up to match the rhythm of the storyline."

Zhang Wei adjusted his glasses and continued, "The direction of using opera singing is very correct. Zhao Pan'er is a tea house lady in the Song Dynasty, and singing opera singing is a perfect fit for the era. Moreover, opera singing itself has a strong emotional appeal, and its use at key plot points will have a very good effect. This work itself has a simple and rustic narrative feel, and when opera singing is incorporated into the arrangement, combined with Zhao Pan'er's growth story from Qiantang to Tokyo, the audience will remember it."

"Teacher Xiao He, we have the interlude. What about the theme song?" Wang Yuren put down his wine glass and looked at Xiao He.

Xiao He flipped the order form to the other side, and his pen returned to the paper. This time he wrote even faster, almost in one go.

"I have walked through the snow falling on the Qilian Mountains outside Yumen Pass. I have also walked through the wind blowing along the Great Wall. By the mountains and rivers, heroes have disappeared into the forest and turned into a rain. A sword between heaven and earth has cleaved the blue sky."

After he finished writing, he pushed the paper to Yang Yang.

Yang Yang took the paper and scanned it from beginning to end without saying a word.

She passed the paper to Zhang Wei, who read it and remained silent.

Wang Yuren leaned over and looked for a few seconds, then stared in disbelief and put down his wine glass. The crisp sound of the porcelain hitting the table was particularly clear in the quiet private room.

"The song's atmosphere is immediately set by the words 'I walked through'."

Yang Yang finally spoke, pointing his finger at the lyrics as if drawing a storyboard for a play.

"Gu Qianfan's chivalrous spirit and Zhao Pan'er's resilience are both captured in the line, 'A sword between heaven and earth, cleaving through the blue sky.' It's not a love song, but a song of chivalry and the spirit of heroes and heroines."

She looked up at Xiao He, and the chopsticks she was twirling in her hand slammed down on the rim of the bowl.

"Buy one get one free, what a great deal!"

Xiao He smiled slightly: "'That Year When We Were Young' describes Zhao Pan'er's youth, while 'Xiao' describes Zhao Pan'er and Gu Qianfan's journey together in the martial arts world. Together, the two songs form the emotional thread of the entire 'Dream Record'."

Zhang Wei carefully tucked the lyrics sheet into the script, the warm yellow light of the private room reflecting off his metal-framed glasses: "We'll be recording in the studio next month."

Yang Yang picked up the glass of wine in front of her that hadn't been touched much, and raised it to Xiao He: "The OST for 'Ever Night' is a shoo-in for the Song of the Year. As for 'Dream Record,' you've finished writing the music, so I don't think we need to worry anymore." She put the glass on the table, "But the speed at which you write songs is terrifying. You order two songs from the menu, one for a cup of tea each."

"When inspiration strikes, it doesn't matter what kind of paper it is. There are still many more songs I haven't finished organizing in my notebook at home. I put 'I Walked Through' as ​​the first line of this song because it best conveys the character's growth from youth to maturity, from confusion to determination."

Xiao He smiled.