Rekindling the Youthful Era

Chapter 770 Be sure to... pay attention to safety

Upon arriving at Yuan Wanqing's office, Ying Chanxi immediately went to get busy.

Li Luo wandered around for a while but didn't see Yuan Wanqing. He asked her and found out she was in the recording studio.

So Li Luo went to the recording studio again, and as soon as he entered, he saw Yuan Wanqing recording a song, the one Li Luo had provided before, "Misplaced Time and Space".

After finishing her song, Yuan Wanqing came out of the recording studio and smiled at Li Luo: "Listen to it, give me some pointers?"

"How could I dare to give Aunt Yuan any pointers?" Li Luo shook her head with a laugh. "It sounds wonderful."

"Have you heard the version of 'Bamboo Flute'?" Yuan Wanqing asked with a smile. "Who do you think sings it better, the one with the bamboo flute?"

Li Luo: "..."

It's truly astonishing that Yuan Wanqing would ask such a potentially disastrous question.

It feels like it was done on purpose.

"Aunt Yuan's style is more outstanding in emotional performances," Li Luo commented impartially and seriously. "Zhu Sheng is a bit immature in comparison, but her clear tone has its own unique charm."

"It feels like they're saying I'm getting old."

"I didn't mean that at all," Li Luo quickly shook her head. "Aunt Yuan, how could you make such wild guesses?"

"I'm just teasing you." Yuan Wanqing covered her mouth and chuckled. "It's a pity that recording here is useless; I still have to make a trip to Jingzhao City."

"How so?" Li Luo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They’re not comfortable with Douyin,” Luo Fei snorted from the side. “After signing the contract, they want to find a top domestic arranger to rearrange the music and then have Wanqing and Zhusheng go there to record another version.”

"Oh, I see." Li Luo nodded knowingly. "Then we can save Aunt Luo's version for a later album release."

"Are you preparing a new album?" Yuan Wanqing looked at Li Luo with some anticipation.

“Ahem…” Li Luo coughed and shook his head, saying, “Let’s release a single album. I feel that with the development of the internet, the traditional album format will gradually become outdated.”

"The logic of making money has changed. The traditional bundled sales model that revolves around the main song and includes a dozen other songs of mediocre quality also needs to change with the times."

"The reach and influence of a single are far more important than the album itself."

In fact, this was the case before.

However, at that time, album sales still accounted for the majority of revenue.

As things progress, the situation will become increasingly different.

In an era rife with free content and piracy, paid content will always remain a niche market.

Ultimately, the only option is to adopt an indirect profit-making model: exchanging content for traffic, and then using that traffic to exchange for money with platforms and advertisers.

For paid content to truly take off, many conditions are still missing.

Yuan Wanqing had never doubted Li Luo's judgment, so when she heard him say this, she nodded in agreement and then said with a smile, "In short, the contract between the studio and Huayue Film and Television will expire next year."

"I'll have to ask Teacher Chongran for his support then."

"Don't forget me just because you have Zhusheng."

When Li Luo heard Yuan Wanqing teasing him like that, he immediately smiled awkwardly: "You two should discuss this. I can't control inspiration. Whoever is suitable to sing the song can sing it."

Yuan Wanqing knew that Li Luo was definitely more inclined to support his own daughter. It wasn't that he really wanted to compete with Yan Zhusheng for Yan Zhusheng's affections; he was just joking with his future son-in-law.

With the influence of her current work, the old songs from her first two albums should be enough for her to live off for the rest of her life.

Especially after appearing on the Spring Festival Gala, Yuan Wanqing also aligned herself with the official channels. During the National Day celebrations recently, she even sang a revolutionary song in cooperation with the authorities.

The studio has already set the tone for Yuan Wanqing's career path.

Li Luo was happy to see this happen, after all, he had quite a few patriotic songs in his possession.

For example, the song "Misplaced Time and Space" that Yuan Wanqing just sang also has a version with lyrics from a patriotic song.

"Aunt Yuan, is there still a chance for you to be on the Spring Festival Gala this year?" Li Luo asked curiously.

“I did receive an invitation from the Spring Festival Gala director,” Yuan Wanqing nodded. “However, there aren’t any particularly suitable new songs this year, so I haven’t replied yet.”

"Isn't there a new song?" Li Luo reminded him with a smile.

"But isn't this song unsuitable for the Spring Festival Gala?"

"Didn't Aunt Luo show it to you?" Li Luo asked Luo Fei, looking at her in confusion. "What about the other version of the lyrics I gave you before?"

"Oh, you said you didn't need it for the time being, so I didn't show it to her." Luo Fei said this, and then opened the computer next to her, found the lyrics that Li Luo had sent her before, and showed them to Yuan Wanqing.

"You can't believe it's like this?" Yuan Wanqing was surprised. After reading the lyrics, her eyes lit up, and she nodded with satisfaction. "These lyrics are pretty good. Shall I give that to the Spring Festival Gala?"

"You can record this version of the song first and then contact us," Li Luo suggested.

“That makes sense.” Yuan Wanqing nodded, then thought of another point, “If I can get on the Spring Festival Gala this year, should I negotiate with Douyin again?”

Reminded by Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo nodded in realization: "That was something I overlooked; I hadn't thought of it before."

"It's alright, the contract hasn't been signed yet anyway," Yuan Wanqing chuckled. "Let the business team handle the headaches."

After a brief chat with Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo, under Luo Fei's arrangement, recorded several songs he had prepared for "The Beginning".

Apart from the theme song "Under Investigation," which Yan Zhusheng had already decided on, he recorded the other four songs once.

With the original version from the previous life and some simple coaching from Luo Fei and Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo quickly completed the recording, leaving Luo Fei amazed.

"Who was it that said their singing skills were just average?" Luo Fei exclaimed in surprise, then couldn't help but complain, "Isn't Zhu Sheng's teaching quite good? Your pitch is terrifying, and you adjust so quickly."

"Cough... It's alright." Li Luo remained modest, after all, this wasn't his true level, he was just relying on the technique of the Memory Palace soul possession to tough it out.

A pure copy-and-paste machine.

After recording these songs, he's starting to feel a bit dizzy, so he thinks he'll need to go to bed early tonight and recharge.

“What a pity,” Yuan Wanqing said from the side. “Zhusheng also said that you are good at piano. Even though you never learned it when you were a child, you picked it up very quickly. If only you could have gone to the music academy back then.”

Given Li Luo's musical talent displayed in front of them, it was indeed a pity for Yuan Wanqing.

If this talent could be properly developed, combined with Li Luo's creative abilities, Yuan Wanqing felt that Li Luo could become a much more popular superstar than her.

Unfortunately, Li Luozhi was not here.

Now, as a celebrity songwriter and online novelist, he is already quite a public figure.

However, these two identities do not require frequent public appearances; the work is mostly done behind the scenes.

Relatively speaking, this offers better privacy.

Li Luo is very clear about his strengths, so his goal after being reborn is also very simple.

After using my foresight to make as much profit as possible, I can live a peaceful and happy life with Xixi and the other two.

There's no need to ask for anything more.

This was already the life he had always dreamed of.

If Li Luo eventually gets blinded by money and fame and turns to pursue these ephemeral things, then many years later, when he looks back, he might find that the original aspirations he wanted to pursue have long since disappeared on the road ahead.

Sometimes life is about knowing when to stop.

Once you've identified the scenery you want to see, and you've arrived at that place, you should stop and enjoy it.

Instead of moving forward for the sake of moving forward.

The path of desire has no end, but life always comes to an end.

If, when leaving, the only images that flash through your mind are the goal you are constantly striving for, but not the scenery along the way, then you are putting the cart before the horse.

"Music is for fun; the goal is to make it sound good. Making money is just a bonus," Li Luo said with a smile. "I think it's good as it is now; there's no need to pursue anything more."

"I'm just expressing my opinion. You're talented in other areas too, so you don't necessarily have to stick to music." Yuan Wanqing smiled helplessly. "I was just saying that you're actually quite talented in other areas as well, so you don't necessarily have to stick to music."

“That’s what it’s like to be a genius,” Luo Fei remarked from the side. “A little bit of talent that just spills out is enough for an ordinary person to look up to for a lifetime.”

No matter how humble Li Luo was, he couldn't help but feel a little smug when faced with Yuan Wanqing and Luo Fei's high-level flattery.

So he immediately interrupted the conversation, hurriedly said goodbye to the recording studio, and slipped away to the interior of Huayue Film and Television Company.

After searching around, Li Luo found producer Zhang Ruiwen. From him, he learned that Wang Jun had already taken the assistant director and others to Jingzhao City and learned about the audition process.

He then wandered over to Ying Zhicheng's office.

"They actually came running this way to me." Ying Zhicheng looked up at Li Luo, slightly surprised, and raised an eyebrow to ask, "Do they want to fight me?"

"If Uncle Ying wants to fight, I'll naturally oblige," Li Luo chuckled. "I just came over for a cup of tea. Xixi is still busy, and I have nothing to do right now, so I came over to take a look around."

He originally planned to come and record a song, and now that he's finished, he's waiting for Ying Chanxi to go home together.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zhicheng picked up his phone, glanced at the time, and then said, "Wait for me for half an hour, then I'll go downstairs to practice boxing."

"Row."

……

Half an hour later, Li Luo and Ying Zhicheng appeared in the boxing gym downstairs. They had a thrilling ten-minute sparring match before returning to the sofa, drenched in sweat.

It must be said that sports like boxing can indeed greatly enhance relationships.

As the saying goes, "no fight, no friendship," and Li Luo felt that since he and Ying Zhicheng started exchanging barbs frequently, their relationship seemed to have grown much closer.

"How's the villa renovation going?" Ying Zhicheng asked Li Luo, wiping his face with a towel.

"The renovation is all done, and we're still airing out the formaldehyde," Li Luo said. "We can move in next month, and then we'll invite Uncle Ying and Aunt Yuan over for dinner."

"Hmm." Ying Zhicheng nodded slightly. "Tianlu Yaju, right?"

"Correct."

"I've discussed it with your Aunt Yuan, and we're thinking of buying a house in your area as well," Ying Zhicheng said. "That way, it'll be more convenient for us to visit each other in the future."

“Sure,” Li Luo said with a smile. “The apartment next door is vacant. Uncle Ying, why don’t you consider it? That way we can still be neighbors.”

"We'll see when the time comes," Ying Zhicheng smiled. "There's no rush now. Let's wait until things settle down at Huayue Film and Television."

"Settle down?"

“The board of directors has been a bit restless lately,” Ying Zhicheng said simply. “Some people are getting carried away by ‘A Little Reunion’ and are saying they want to increase their investment and invest in more dramas.”

"Ha... so eager to lose money, they really don't know their own limitations."

"Does anyone really think that every new TV series will be like 'A Little Reunion'?"

Upon hearing Ying Zhicheng's words, Li Luo raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there pressure from over there?"

"It's alright," Ying Zhicheng said. "The main issue is the competition between my teacher and another major shareholder. They actually know they can't just invest in me; they're just using a few people to annoy me."

Nobody would turn down making money.

But if we can hold all the power in our own hands, that would be ideal.

Both sides were well aware of each other's ulterior motives.

Li Luo had previously met Ying Zhicheng's teacher and had a meal with him, arranged by Ying Zhicheng, as a way of paying respects.

The other party has extensive connections in the industry. When he left the TV station, he relied on the connections he had accumulated to make a name for himself in Yuhang City.

Now that Li Luo has fully connected with this network, he can be considered to have someone backing him up.

"When 'The Great Qian Night Patrol' is almost finished next year, I'll see what Wen Yue Group thinks." Li Luo naturally remembered the plan Ying Zhicheng had mentioned to him before, and now he verbally assured him, "If possible, I will try to get more."

"Hmm." Ying Zhicheng nodded. "We'll talk about that later. There's no rush for now."

After chatting for a while and resting for a bit, the two went back on stage to compete.

After finishing her work, Ying Chanxi went upstairs to look for Li Luo. After searching around, she learned that the two of them had come down to practice boxing again, so she hurried downstairs.

As soon as she entered the boxing gym, she saw her father punching her husband hard.

After the two finished, Ying Chanxi casually handed Ying Zhicheng a bottle of water, then took a towel to wipe Li Luo's face, and whispered, "Why didn't you fight back when you were fighting with my dad? You can't just keep taking hits, you should fight back."

"Ahem..." Li Luo glanced at Ying Zhicheng, and seeing that he hadn't heard what Ying Chanxi said, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then said in a low voice, "Didn't you realize why Uncle Ying always asks me to box?"

"Huh? Didn't you say you were going to work out?" Ying Chanxi was taken aback, a little confused.

"Your dad knows about us," Li Luo whispered a reminder. "I'm lucky he hasn't killed me yet; taking a couple of punches won't hurt."

"What?!" Ying Chanxi was shocked when she heard this. She subconsciously looked at Ying Zhicheng and her face turned red instantly.

Fortunately, Li Luo blocked Ying Chanxi's expression in time. Ying Zhicheng saw the young couple whispering to each other and didn't want to watch any longer. The more he watched, the more heartbroken he felt, so he simply went to the shower room to take a bath.

"My dad already knows?" Ying Chanxi asked in a low voice, her face flushed with shyness.

"Hmm... he probably knows," Li Luo replied softly. "I just don't know how much he knows. Why don't you go ask him?"

"I...I won't ask!" Ying Chanxi opened her eyes wide, shook her head repeatedly, shook Li Luo's arm, and then muttered softly, "How could I possibly ask? You should be the one asking."

"I dare to ask?" Li Luo said speechlessly, "The first time I boxed with Uncle Ying, he threw a punch straight at my face right from the start."

"Then why did you say you were fine that time?" Ying Chanxi pouted and said, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"If that's what you're asking, then it must hurt quite a bit." Li Luo touched his face, then shamelessly moved closer to Ying Chanxi, "I need my dear Xixi to soothe my wounded heart."

"It's been so long, and it still hurts?" Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes at him.

The two of them joked around for a while, and after Ying Zhicheng finished showering, it was Li Luo's turn to shower.

So only Ying Zhicheng and his daughter Ying Chanxi remained on the sofa.

The thought that her father already knew about her relationship with Li Luo made Ying Chanxi feel increasingly embarrassed, and she was even a little too shy to talk to her father.

Ying Zhicheng didn't think much of it, but chatted casually with his daughter and briefly inquired about the situation on Douyin.

Upon learning that they were going to Jingzhao City together, Ying Zhicheng remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Well... please be careful."

(End of this chapter)