Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

In the activity room.

All eyes were darting back and forth between Fang Yu and Liu Yifei.

A few seconds later, everyone understood.

They genuinely thought that "it has to be a female voice" was some kind of carefully crafted artistic expression.

After all that fuss, this isn't art and design at all.

It's obvious that the radish pit was dug in advance, just waiting for Liu Yifei to fall into it.

The expectation on Lao Zhou's face slowly faded, leaving only a complicated expression.

It's understandable that a young man wants to help his girlfriend.

If he were younger, he might have done the same thing.

But this is a CCTV documentary project about the Forbidden City, not a place for young couples to work together to build up their resumes.

In other words, having the trump card "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales" in front of him provided Fang Yu with enough immunity from death.

If anyone else dared to do this, Old Zhou would have kicked them out long ago.

"Um, well..."

Old Zhou stood up, patted his trouser leg, and spoke politely, but his attitude was very clear.

"It's getting late, shall we head to the cafeteria first?"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate commotion in the activity room.

"Yes, yes, let's eat first."

"If we wait any longer, there might not even be any soup left."

Several experts took the opportunity to get up and begin moving towards the door.

It wasn't that they were deliberately disrespecting Fang Yu.

In their view, this so-called ending theme song is probably just a piece written by young people to make their girlfriends happy.

Of course you can listen.

But there's no need for a group of people to act like it's a national-level project review.

A literary consultant waved his hand at Xiao Zhang.

"Xiao Zhang, please make an internal recording according to procedure."

"Let's listen to it after we finish eating, so we can help Xiao Fang organize her opinions."

The words were spoken very gently, and the opportunity to back down was given ample chance.

The young man wanted to impress his girlfriend, so everyone was willing to give him some face.

You can't just say something definitive on the spot and make people lose face.

Beside the door.

Liu Yifei held Fang Yu's coat, her palms already damp with a thin layer of sweat.

She could clearly sense that the atmosphere in the activity room had changed.

The admiring and surprised looks from before have clearly faded now.

Some of the experts even looked a little disappointed.

Liu Yifei bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with anxiety and heartache.

What on earth is this idiot doing?!

She knew that Fang Yu was trying to give her a chance.

But she would rather not have this opportunity than lose the recognition that Fang Yu had worked so hard to gain with "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales" because of her!

Shen Weimin's feelings were even more complicated.

He did have high hopes for Fang Yu, and that's why he didn't want to see the kid get cocky as soon as he achieved some success.

Liu Yifei has just proven her singing ability with "Right Now," and her commercial success is also quite good.

Commercial singles and national-level cultural projects are two completely different sets of standards.

The former focuses on the market and communication.

The latter focuses on cultural expression, depth of the work, and overall character.

Should Liu Yifei sing the ending theme song for "The Forbidden City"?

Getting past the expert panel alone is difficult, not to mention the subsequent internal review by the station and the final broadcast approval.

Shen Weimin sighed, raised his hand to suppress the matter for now, and decided to leave Fang Yu some room to maneuver.

"Alright, Xiao Fang."

We understand your feelings—

Ding.

A clear, melodious piano note echoed from the activity room.

The voice was very soft, but it immediately drew everyone's attention back.

Fang Yu didn't look up, but softly announced the song title before the second chord fell.

"This song is called 'Light'."

Shen Weimin's words were cut off halfway.

The experts who had already reached the door stopped.

One person had their hand on the doorknob, but they just couldn't press it down.

This melody lacks the heavy, majestic, and oppressive feeling of the opening of "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales".

It's very light and very clean.

The sound of the zither slowly spread.

Fang Yu didn't look at anyone.

He lowered his head slightly, his ten fingers landing on the somewhat old piano.

The light from outside the window slanted in, casting a faint shadow on his profile.

This time, his voice was much softer.

It lacks the overwhelming power of "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales".

It's more like telling a story from a very distant, long time ago.

"A gust of wind rises at sea..."

"White clouds surge towards the land..."

"The monsoon carries away the sand..."

There are only three sentences.

The simplest form of line drawing.

There was no excessive use of flowery language, nor any deliberate attempt to elevate the subject.

The melody is equally restrained, without any flashy techniques or sudden high notes.

But those three sentences were enough to stop the group of people at the door from their tracks.

Old Zhou gripped the doorknob and slowly withdrew his hand.

Tang Huaiyuan silently withdrew the foot that had just stepped out into the activity room.

Something's wrong with this song!

This doesn't sound like a sweet love song to cheer up your girlfriend!

The experts fell silent.

They stared at Fang Yu's retreating figure, waiting for his next sentence.

Then--

The music stopped, and the singing ceased.

Fang Yu raised his head and looked at the group of old experts at the door, who were stuck in a dilemma, unsure whether to stay or leave.

The expression should be as innocent as possible.

"Why?"

"Why aren't you teachers leaving?"

"Hurry up and get to the cafeteria, or there won't be any seats left."

The activity room fell silent.

Old Zhou's face froze, and his lips twitched several times.

As if afraid that the timing wasn't right, Fang Yu added another sentence in a serious tone.

"Oh, right."

"Could any teacher please get two meals for me and Yifei?"

"One serving of braised pork, with extra broth."

"The other serving doesn't need cilantro."

"Thank you so much."

"..."

The activity room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Old Zhou was so angry his mustache almost stood on end.

Tang Huaiyuan's eyes widened, and he raised his hand to point directly at Fang Yu.

That kid definitely did it on purpose!

Several senior experts were so angry they wanted to curse, but they really couldn't do anything about it.

Fang Yu didn't slam his fist on the table.

I didn't yell, "Why don't you believe me?"

He just played three lines quietly.

Then the entire expert team walked back on their own.

This boomerang was both fast and accurate.

What's even more infuriating is that they actually want to hear it!

Tang Huaiyuan pointed at Fang Yu, waving his hand in the air several times.

In the end, all that remained was a long, bittersweet sigh.

"You! You!"

"Fine, you win, kid!"

He didn't leave either.

He dragged a chair over and sat down heavily by the door, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm not eating, okay?"

"I'll go whenever you finish singing!"

"I don't want this braised pork today!"

When the other experts saw someone taking the lead, they quickly turned back as well.

Some pulled out chairs, others put their bags down.

The group that was just preparing to retreat as a group is now sitting there more eagerly than anyone else.

Judging from their posture, if Fang Yu doesn't sing the rest of the song today, they might as well sleep on the floor in the activity room.

Liu Yifei, standing by the door, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced at the group of experts who had been lured back by three lines of lyrics, then at Fang Yu, who looked utterly smug in front of the piano.

I'm both angry and amused.

This guy could have just handed in the song properly, but he had to cause this mess!

She was so anxious just now.

Looking at the scene of people who were suddenly struck by the delicious aroma, Shen Weimin was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

He strode over to the piano and patted Fang Yu on the shoulder twice in an annoyed manner.

"Alright, Xiao Fang."

That's enough.

"Stop fooling around, sing already."

Fang Yu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Alright, Director Shen."

"Let's continue."

After saying that, he put his hands back on the piano keys.

The joking on his face gradually disappeared.

In the activity room.

Everyone sat quietly, holding their breath.