A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 104 Fat and Thin
The next morning, I flew to Taiwan.

No one was allowed to see him off.

From the moment they left the hotel, the paparazzi chased them relentlessly, ambushing them again at the airport. Once the plane landed and they exited the arrivals area, they were again surrounded by paparazzi from Taiwan—who kept asking them all sorts of questions.

Lin Chien-lu, who used to laugh and joke around with paparazzi and utter witty remarks, was too lazy to deal with them this time.

He just kept walking forward. He was strong and powerful, and ordinary paparazzi couldn't stop him unless they dragged him by force, let alone the bodyguards that Zhang Aijia brought to pick him up at the airport.

Once they were finally in the car, Sylvia Chang's first question was, "You're going to sing an English song? Do you have any work to show for it?"

However, Lin Jianlu waved his hand, "Let's not talk about this now, let's finish Shu Hua's album first."

So Zhang Aijia had no choice but to suppress her excitement and curiosity.

When Ge Fuhong called yesterday, they were both incredibly excited—it wasn't necessarily true that Lin Jianlu could write good English songs; even with talent, songwriting wasn't something you could do like that.

Whether it's pop songs, rock, or any other type of music, collectively known as modern pop music, the Chinese music scene has always been following in others' footsteps and imitating others blindly. Being able to write good Chinese pop songs doesn't mean you can master the style of the English market.

However, he was, after all, Lin Jianlu!

Genius! Absolutely a genius, no doubt!
He himself has said that he is self-taught and has listened to a lot of Western music. He then wrote songs by copying what others wrote. Copying is good. He doesn't need to be as good as the album "Cold to the End" in the Chinese music scene. If his English songs are of a certain standard and can sell hundreds of thousands of copies in the Western market, that would be enough to brag about in the Chinese music scene!

Such an impressive resume is absolutely top-tier in the Chinese music scene for elevating the personal image and prestige of an artist, music creator, and singer!
I write and sing English songs, and they sell like hotcakes in Europe and America—selling 100,000 copies is considered a huge success—you disagree? You try it yourself!
Even if you can release an EP with just three songs, and it sells well in Europe and America, selling 100,000 or 200,000 copies, your status will immediately rise. If you then return to the Chinese music scene and release a second album, it will absolutely be a smash hit!
If he's called the King of Chinese Pop, there won't be a single dissenting voice left!
If you could achieve something truly impressive, like a Grammy nomination—not necessarily winning, just getting a nomination is impressive enough—then you'd be practically a saint!

In the entire Chinese pop music scene, everyone who sees him has to kneel down!
Have you not seen Hou Hsiao-hsien? He went to Venice, won an award, and instantly became a master. And this is just Venice, one of the three major European art-house film awards. In the Chinese film industry, if someone can go to the Oscars and win Best Foreign Language Film or Best Director, just wait and see, they will absolutely become a saint!

For example... her good friend, Ang Lee, who helped produce "Siao Yu".

Two Berlin Golden Bear awards, two Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, and one Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Director—he is now the number one Chinese-language director in the world! Whether it's Hou Hsiao-hsien from Taiwan, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou from mainland China, or Wong Kar-wai from Hong Kong, they all rank behind him. That's the confidence the Oscars give him!

But the Chinese music scene still lacks international recognition, let alone the Oscars, or even the three major European awards—instead, it has to constantly buy the rights to Chinese cover songs from all over the world!

"Okay! You focus on helping Shu Hua with the album first, take your time to find your footing and write slowly. Lao Ge and I will start contacting Rolling Stone and Columbia in the next few days. There shouldn't be any problems. Lao Duan won't dare to pressure you, and Zhao Mingxin is more than happy to see you succeed!"

"it is good!"

…………

It's back again.

Things are actually much calmer here in Taiwan.

However, if they don't want their scandals to be sensationalized, dating is basically out of the question.

There's nothing we can do about it. Before, the rumors were false, and Lin Jianlu was unrestrained and reckless, not only hugging and kissing female friends casually, but also making up stories on the spot. Now that the rumors are true, he has to be careful and try his best not to be caught in the act by the media and paparazzi.

If it's just one person, no matter who it is, it's not that scary. At worst, it'll be exposed, or at worst, they'll fall in love!

Fans and music lovers object? I don't care if you object or not!
But what about two? Or three?
The look in your eyes when you love someone can't be hidden, but if you love two people, you must hide it well.

But it's okay, we can meet at the company.

Even when rehearsing with Chen Shuhua, the practice room can be locked from the inside, and no one will insist on barging in.

Moreover, when two people meet, rumors about them are likely to spread, but when a group of people meet, nothing happens.

This time I was away for only a week, but when I saw Chen Shuhua again, her complexion had improved a lot. She was still thin, but her cheeks had started to have a rosy color, and she looked much healthier.

After landing and checking into the hotel, Lin Jianlu went to Rock Records in the morning. A bunch of acquaintances greeted her and chatted, and they had lunch together. Then Lin Jianlu went into the practice room.

A short while later, Chen Shuhua also came in and consciously locked the door from the inside—although she and Su Huilun had an understanding that Su Huilun would definitely not come to disturb them at this time, they still wanted to guard against others.

Hug her, kiss her, and watch her regain her happiness and cheerfulness—Lin Jianlu's joy was palpable. She asked, "How's your mother doing? Are you no longer arguing?"

She shook her head with a smile, hugged her neck, and couldn't resist tiptoeing to kiss her again.

After a long period of cuddling, I was finally able to sit down with her in my arms and talk about how much I missed her. "I don't know what's wrong with Mom. After she recovered from her illness this time, she seems to have suddenly become much more open-minded. She speaks to me much more gently and doesn't mention our past anymore. Recently... we haven't been arguing anymore."

"That's a good thing! After all, she's your mother, and you're mother and daughter. Constant arguing will definitely damage your relationship."

"Ah."

"Wow, it's shrunk too!"

"Pfft... Of course! If you're fat, you gain weight around your waist first; if you're thin, you lose weight around your chest first! I'm so troubled by this!"

But Lin Jianlu was already lost in her fantasies, "I think Huilun seems to have gained a little weight..."

"Pfft! You're so annoying! Do you have to talk to me about Huilun's chest?"

"Just kidding! If I go to Huilun's house tonight, what will I do tomorrow?"

"I don't know either! But Sister Aijia warned me not to go to a hotel to spend the night with you. I'm trying to figure something out. What do you think, should I sneak out and find a hotel room, and you come over to my place?" "She dared to warn you? I'll warn her later, and tell her not to warn you!"

"puff……"

Then the topic of buying a house came up again.

After Lin Jianlu left Hong Kong, she flew back to the capital and stayed for quite a while. Then she flew for almost a month to attend commercial performances. Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun, on the other hand, were not idle. They found a real estate agency to show them properties and had already viewed quite a few properties. The two of them went together, discussed them after viewing, and had initially selected a few targets, just waiting for Lin Jianlu to come and view them together.

…………

The whole afternoon passed by in this languid way, without practicing a single song.

By evening, Su Huilun had left early, and Chen Shuhua also drove away alone, while Lin Xilei drove Lin Jianlu back to the hotel.

People were following and secretly filming us the whole way.

Once the car entered the hotel's underground parking garage, perhaps the paparazzi felt there was no more news to dig up, so they didn't follow. Then the two immediately switched cars. The car was borrowed from the company that afternoon and had been driven here in advance, with the intention of shaking off the paparazzi.

When they arrived at Su Huilun's house, it was just in time for dinner.

Gluttonous and saccharine.

"What should I do, Lu? I saw you and Sister Shuhua go into the practice room one after the other. I know I don't have the right to be jealous. You clearly like Sister Shuhua more, but I just can't help feeling jealous! I'm just... so unhappy!"

"No, I like her just the same way. I just feel sorry for her!"

"Come on, I don't believe it! I've never heard of someone asking to be someone's lover just because they feel sorry for them! But that's why Sister Shuhua keeps telling me that she'll only be your lover, which makes me jealous every time I get jealous. I feel like I can't be like this, that I've already taken someone else's lover and I'm still jealous!"

"What should I do?"

"Is it your fault? Who told you to be such a womanizer!"

"That's true! Just blame me! ...Are you any happier now?"

"Have!"

"Hahahaha!"

Let's not rush into eating; let's whisper sweet nothings first, and then get down to business.

Her nanny was kicked out after preparing dinner, and the whole house could be a battlefield.

She was covered in sweat, and the only strength she had left was enough for her to cling to Lin Jianlu with both arms and hang on him. She closed her eyes and gasped for breath. Lin Jianlu was alright; after resting for a while, he held her and sat on the sofa. Two or three minutes later, he was able to carry her to the bathroom.

After washing up, I lounged on the sofa for a while before getting up to eat.

The food had long since gone cold.

They didn't reheat it anymore; everyone ate it with great relish.

After eating, we rest for a while, chat about all sorts of random topics, and then somehow we end up hugging and kissing again, and then we do it again.

Almost frantic, hysterical, and relentless pleasure.

…………

Recording, dating, having sex.

This album by Chen Shuhua was essentially produced entirely by Lin Jianlu. Although there was a nearly two-month hiatus, her return now marks the completion of the project. Having taught and recorded so many songs beforehand, Chen Shuhua has effectively found the singing style Lin Jianlu wanted her to have.

After a little getting into the swing of things, the recording progress was still quite fast.

During this process, Lin Jianlu took time to write and draw by himself, deliberately writing several drafts and making numerous adjustments and revisions—mainly the lyrics, as he wanted to show that he wasn't actually that good at English.

But in the end, after recording two more songs for Chen Shuhua, he handed over the complete sheet music for all three English songs to Zhang Aijia.

In just three days, the contacts with both Rolling Stone and Sony Columbia were over. Old Duan of Rolling Stone was a little reluctant, but he soon agreed. Zhao Mingxin of Sony Columbia was even more relaxed, and it could even be said that they hit it off immediately—only the signing of the contract was left.

However, contracts shouldn't be signed casually. You need to present your work; sheet music and even demos won't do. Ideally, and indeed must, you need to produce a finished product—something of high quality. Only when the other party acknowledges the quality of your work can you negotiate more favorable terms and conditions. This includes the level of channel support provided, promotional benefits, and so on.

and so--

"Baby", "My-Love", "Shape-of-You".

Justin Bieber, Westlife, Ed Sheeran.

In the end, I chose these three songs that I had almost worn out from singing them on live streams in my past life.

(End of this chapter)