She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

On that day, the invitation letter from the Spring Festival Gala directing team was sent to Taihe Music.

Hu Yiyou's tone on the phone was half an octave higher than usual: "The Spring Festival Gala directing team specifically requested that the HF group perform. Solo or duet, song of their choice, but it has to be a new song. A new song solo on the Spring Festival Gala stage—do you know what that means?"

"However, whether it can be released in the end depends on whether the new song is suitable."

Chen Zhu only sent one sentence in the work group: "That's a great opportunity, don't waste it. President Xiao, come up with a song that can resonate with the people."

Xiao He replied "okay" and leaned back in his chair in the study.

Outside the window was the gray, overcast sky of Beijing in the depths of winter, but the melody of a song was already playing in his head—"Good Morning, Longhui".

He remembers this song very clearly. It was originally sung by Yuan Shuxiong and released at the end of 2020. It was originally intended to praise the culture and scenery of his hometown, Longhui, and to spread positive energy.

Yuan Shuxiong said that the inspiration for this song came late at night, and it only took two days from the first stroke of the pen to its completion.

As everyone knows, during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, this song became a viral sensation online, garnering over 10 billion plays in a single day. Videos featuring Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar were all accompanied by this melody.

You are the most beautiful star in the night sky, illuminating my way forward—this lyric was later used as background music for countless short videos, with total views exceeding 10 billion across the internet.

But it's 2019 now, and the song still hasn't been written. In the copyright library, it lies quietly in the registration list of Hechao Music.

Xiao He opened the copyright management backend, found the lyrics and music registration page for "Good Morning Longhui", and printed out the lyrics and spread them out on the table.

He hummed the melody of the verse to himself.

"Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more, good morning my baby..."

After singing a few lines, Xiao He stopped.

This song was written for Longhui.

However, when the HF group sang "Good Morning, My Longhui" on the Spring Festival Gala stage, the audience couldn't understand it, and they themselves felt it was off.

He hummed it again, replacing "Longhui" with "hometown" in his mind.

Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more. Good morning, my hometown.

It seems alright, but it feels like it's lacking a bit of power.

"Still thinking about writing a song for the Spring Festival Gala?"

Liu Yifei walked in at some point, carrying two cups of freshly warmed milk. She placed one of the cups on the desk, glanced at the lyrics sheet he had spread out, and then sat down in the chair next to the desk.

"Hmm. One of the melodies is almost finished, but the lyrics need to be changed."

"What song?"

"Good Morning Longhui. It was originally written for my hometown, Longhui, with the lines, 'Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more, good morning, my Longhui.' But we are not from Longhui, and if we sing about Longhui on the Spring Festival Gala stage, the audience will be confused. I just tried changing 'Longhui' to 'hometown,' and it's okay, but not enough."

"Where is our motherland?" Liu Yifei walked over with a glass of milk, looking down at the lyrics on the paper, "Singing about our motherland on the Spring Festival Gala stage, just right."

"motherland?"

Xiao He picked up a pen and wrote the word "motherland" in the blank space on the paper, then hummed the lyrics from beginning to end.

The melody is still the same melody, but every time "Longhui" is replaced with "motherland", the whole song is like it has been given a new heart - from personal longing for one's hometown to a declaration of love for the motherland.

"Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more, good morning my baby. You accompany me to greet the brilliant dawn, to welcome the new day. You give me boundless strength to bravely move forward. I want to say thank you, good morning my motherland."

After he finished humming the verse, he looked up at Liu Yifei.

"How's this version?"

"It's better than my hometown. Hometown is a place name, but the motherland is a belief. The production team will like the scene of the whole country listening to 'Good morning, my motherland' together after midnight on the Spring Festival Gala. Wait a minute..."

She suddenly pointed to the second line of the lyrics.

"The phrase 'Good morning, my baby' doesn't fit with 'motherland.' 'Baby' is too intimate; putting it before 'motherland' just doesn't feel right."

Xiao He looked down at the lyrics on the paper—"Let me gaze at you again with deep affection, good morning my baby." Indeed. "Baby" is a term of endearment between lovers; putting it before "the motherland" seems inappropriate.

"I know how to change it now, Good morning, my motherland. Replace all the 'babies' with 'motherland'."

Xiao He picked up a pen and began revising the lyrics line by line.

First chorus: "Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more, good morning my motherland. You accompany me to greet the brilliant dawn, to welcome the new day. You give me boundless strength to bravely move forward. I want to say thank you to you, good morning my motherland."

Climax: "You are the most beautiful star in the night sky, illuminating my way forward. You are the most beautiful encounter in my life; your well-being is my happiness. You are the most beautiful star in the night sky, accompanying me on my journey. You are the most beautiful encounter in my life; good morning, my motherland."

After he finished revising everything, he pushed the lyrics sheet in front of Liu Yifei.

She silently read from the first sentence to the climax, pausing for a beat when she read "You are the most beautiful star in the night sky, illuminating my way forward." It was truly touching and inspiring.

"This version is great, you're awesome." Liu Yifei looked up at him with admiration.

Xiao He thought of something else—the 2019 Spring Festival Gala was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and several songs were about the motherland: "Together with the Motherland" and "Building the Chinese Dream Together".

The song "Good Morning, Motherland" fits perfectly.

At 10 p.m., the two arrived at Hechao Music Studio.

Xiao He imported the arrangement into the mixing console, with the piano as the base and the strings layering in the chorus. It had the same emotional tone as the previous HF duet, but it was grander and more expansive.

Liu Yifei stood in front of the microphone stand, looking down at the lyrics sheet covered with densely altered words.

When she sang it the first time, her voice was still a bit restrained.

It's not that she's afraid to sing, it's that the lyrics were changed and the entire emotional tone of the song changed, so she needs to find her footing again.

I found my rhythm on the second take, and I could hit the high notes in the chorus steadily without any breaks.

After the third take, Xiao He stood up from behind the mixing console: "That's enough."

Next up is the male voice part that he is responsible for.

The music resumed, and the piano prelude gently flowed from the monitoring headphones.

"Let me gaze at you with deep affection once more, good morning, my motherland."

The sound was pushed out from the diaphragm, clean and clear, steadily supported by the piano and strings.

Liu Yifei looked at him from outside the soundproof glass, tilting her head slightly. The more she looked at this younger brother, the more handsome he seemed, even a little charming. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Oh my god, even I, Liu Yifei, have a day when I'm completely captivated."

A few days later, the recorded demo was sent to the Spring Festival Gala directing team.

Liu Zhen was the chief director of the 2019 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

The production team responsible for the initial review of the song-related programs quickly provided feedback after listening to the demo.

The chief director, Liu Zhen, called personally, her tone filled with undisguised praise: "This song is confirmed. The theme of our 2019 Spring Festival Gala is 'Striving for a New Era,' and this song will be the finale after midnight. 'Good Morning, Motherland' will be the finale song at midnight, allowing the people of the whole country to welcome the first morning of the new year together. This is a gift to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and also a tribute to the new era."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao He leaned back in his chair and looked at Liu Yifei, who was also looking at him.

"It's done."

The living room was quiet for a moment.

Then Liu Yifei put the orange cat off her lap, stood up, walked to him, bent down and hugged him: "We're on the Spring Festival Gala! I, Liu Yifei, can be on the Spring Festival Gala too!"