The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

For the next few hours, Wang Lihong's studio became an isolated island.

The sunlight outside the window went from intense to gentle, and then to tinged with twilight, but Li Xu and Wang Lihong were completely unaware of it.

Li Xu was completely immersed in the state of "Du Minghao".

He is no longer a director, but a singer standing on the stage with a thousand words in his heart that he cannot say.

He hummed, narrated, and even occasionally stood up to imitate a gesture Du Minghao made at a concert, trying to convey that "hesitant" emotion through body language.

Wang Lihong's fingers danced across the piano keys.

He is not only a performer, but also a translator.

The task was to translate Li Xu's fragmented and emotional expressions into precise musical notes and chords.

From time to time, adjustments were made based on Li Xu's ideas:

"Director Li, in these lyrics, does Du Minghao express more regret or helplessness?"

Then, based on Li Xu's idea, a melody was adjusted and played, and the question was asked: "Wouldn't this direction be closer to his state of mind at the time?"

Time slowly passed.

As the sun sets in the west.

"..."

"Your tears, like a torrential downpour, shattered on the ground, yet remain vividly in my heart..."

Li Xu sang this song, which he had hummed many times before, once again.

As Li Xu sang a cappella, Wang Lihong's fingers immediately followed.

The piano chords he played quickly became dense and heavy, like a summer afternoon thunderstorm—sultry and oppressive, yet carrying a certain cathartic pleasure.

It begins a dialogue, response, confrontation, and support with Li Xu's humming.

Sometimes, the deep, resonant chords in the low register are used to create a somber undertone in the song.

At times, in the high register, a series of rapid arpeggios are used to express the turbulent emotions of the male protagonist, "Du Minghao".

Inside the studio.

Now only the two of them remain. Wang Jing and Wang Lihong's manager couldn't stand the overly quiet music creation atmosphere any longer and quietly withdrew, even closing the door behind them.

-

Until night fell.

When it was completely dark outside the window, Wang Lihong pressed the last chord.

The sound of the piano echoed slowly in the studio before returning to silence.

He let out a long sigh, turned his head, and saw fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

His voice was a little hoarse, but full of excitement, "Director Li, the movie you wanted, 'The Spine of Emotion,' I think, is now ready."

"We did it! In just half a day, the movie skeleton song demo you requested has been completed by the two of us!"

Li Xu leaned back on the sofa and nodded gently.

In his mind, there was Du Minghao's face in the rain, Song Qing's glance back in the bookstore, and the silent sea of ​​lights at the concert.

It's the unspoken words in Du Minghao's heart, the embraces that never came, the regrets that slowly fermented over time, and the possibility of love.

"Slap slap slap!!!"

Feeling the perfect harmony between the musical melody in his mind and the movie plot, he clapped softly and said, "Teacher Wang, thank you, you really are a genius."

Li Xu never expected that the theme song issue that had troubled him for so long would be resolved so easily in just half a day, and so beautifully, far exceeding his expectations.

Not only this song, but also "Midnight Bookstore" was inspired by Wang Lihong to create a demo.

Seeing that it was already past ten o'clock at night, and knowing that this young superstar had his own things to do the next day, Li Xu didn't bother him any further and simply said goodbye.

-

Stepping outside, the cool July night breeze dispelled the slight heat of the day.

Li Xu took out his phone, humming the demo of "Midnight Bookstore" in a good mood, while looking at the few unread messages on his phone.

Shen Ao reported to him on today's filming progress, and everything was going smoothly.

I received a message from Liu Yifei asking when he would return to the film set, as there was a scene he wanted to rehearse beforehand tomorrow.

Jing Tian inquired about the progress of the song invitation.

Li Xu quickly replied to each one.

After replying, Li Xu walked to the garage downstairs from Wang Lihong's studio, where Wang Jing had been waiting in the car for a while.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Producer Wang. I got really into talking about music with Wang Lihong."

Li Xu got into the car and apologized to Wang Jing.

"It's alright, Director Li. Finding a songwriter for our film is an important matter. But Director Li, you're only coming out so late; it seems our theme song project is progressing well?"

Wang Jing smiled and quickly said.

His personality has always been like this: smooth and sensible, especially towards someone as capable as Li Xu, whom he admires.

"Yes, the song is basically finalized."

Li Xu got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. "There's also the prototype of another movie theme song. I was going to give him 200,000, but he gave me a discount, 150,000."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jing laughed.

As the film production manager, his biggest fear was spending too much money.

However, considering that Wang Lihong had managed to create two movie song demos in just half a day, especially given Li Xu's strict standards for his work, he couldn't help but admire Wang Lihong.

However, Wang Jing also found Li Xu's ability to provide musical inspiration incredible.

Director, actors, and now probably music too—this is just too monstrous.

On the way back to the film and television base.

Wang Jing and Li Xu were chatting when Wang Jing finally couldn't hold back: "Director Li, you really haven't studied music systematically? I saw you talking to Teacher Li Hong about those things, you seemed quite knowledgeable."

I learned a little bit when I was a child.

Li Xu leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. "It's mainly because he understands Du Minghao so well. The song grew out of his heart."

Listening to Li Xu's explanation.

Wang Jing wasn't sure if he should believe it. What he said seemed to make some sense, but it was also a bit off.

However, he didn't speak again on the rest of the journey, focusing only on driving. But in his heart, he gained a new understanding of the genius of the young boss beside him.

-

the next day.

The film crew's hotel in Huairou.

Li Xu had just finished washing up and was about to leave his room when he heard a knock on the door.

The door opened, and there was Liu Yifei.

She seemed to have just finished washing up; her hair was still wet, and she was only wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans.

She held the script in her hand, but her expression was somewhat absent-minded.

"Junior Li Xu, how did your talks with Wang Lihong go yesterday?"

"It went very smoothly, it's basically settled."

"We'll be filming in an hour, so take a break and make sure you're in top form later."

Li Xu stepped aside to let Liu Yifei in, then went to the table and poured himself a glass of water.

After spending several months together, the two had become quite casual with each other.

This wasn't the first time Liu Yifei had come to rehearse with him; she arrived early in the morning.

Hearing Li Xu's words, Liu Yifei sniffed and replied with a hum, "That's fine then. I'll pay attention to my condition when filming next."

As she spoke, she casually sat down at Li Xu's table.

On Li Xu's desk, his notebook was open, filled with musical notation and lyrics.

Liu Yifei picked it up casually, somewhat surprised: "Li Xu, this is... sheet music?"

"Yes, I have some ideas. Wang Lihong helped me refine them quite a bit, and now the song has a rough demo."

Li Xu briefly touched on the topic without offering much explanation.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei felt a surge of interest. Her gaze lingered on the lyrics of the song "The Things You Don't Know" in her notebook: "You don't know why I left you... How many times does a butterfly blink..."

As her fingertips gently traced the words, Liu Yifei thought about the lyrics and matched them little by little with the plot of the movie.

She realized the lyrics really did sound like Du Minghao's style. She blinked, then decided to discuss it with Li Xu. "Li Xu, I think..."

But when she looked up, she realized that Li Xu had already started answering the phone.

Li Xu made an apologetic gesture to Liu Yifei and walked to the window.

"Director Li, I heard you went to Wang Lihong's studio yesterday? Wang Jinggang just chatted with me, saying you two had a very pleasant conversation, and there's progress on the song?"

Jing Tian's sweet voice came through the receiver, and the background noise was very quiet.

"Um?"

Li Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Miss Jing, you two aren't even trying to hide it from others now, are you?"

"Wang Jing is my production manager, not your henchman. Asking him about everything seems a bit inconsiderate of my feelings."

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone.

"Don't be so serious, Li Xu."

"Why make such a big difference between us friends? Wang Jing is your production manager, but I can help you too."

Jing Tian's tone jumped, "I originally contacted Wang Jing to check on your song's progress. I was thinking that if you hadn't found a suitable one, I would try to contact Jay Chou for you. But it seems that's no longer necessary."

"But it's okay, as long as the movie theme song is confirmed."

"For the upcoming post-production, film festival submissions, and overseas distribution, if there's any need to coordinate resources or run procedures, just let Wang Jing know and I'll handle it."

"After all, my Uncle Qian is an investor in your movie. My family has a good relationship with him, so his business is my business, and by extension, your business is my business too."

Jing Tian's words were so natural that Li Xu was momentarily stunned.

Listening to Jing Tian's "domineering" words.

Li Xu gained a new understanding of Wang Jing's "reporting speed" and Jing Tian's personality.

"...Thank you. I won't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

Li Xu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

He didn't want to owe Jing Tian too many favors, but he couldn't refuse help that was related to whether his film could become more perfect.

After hanging up the phone, Li Xu walked back to the table and found Liu Yifei still intently looking at the music content on her notebook, her fingers unconsciously tracing names on the page.

"Yifei, we're about to start filming."

"The things in this notebook won't disappear, you can look at them again next time."

Li Xu gently tapped the table twice, waking Liu Yifei from her reverie, and then spoke to remind her.

Liu Yifei was startled awake and suddenly came to her senses.

"Ah... okay." She put down her notebook, stood up, and prepared to leave for the film set.

But as she stood up, seeing that Li Xu was also preparing to leave, she hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said in a very soft voice:

"Director Li."

"Um?"

"When you wrote these lyrics... were you thinking of Du Minghao, or yourself?"

Li Xu was taken aback.

He hadn't thought about that question.

Or rather, for the past three months, he has been playing Du Minghao, and has been becoming Du Minghao.

He wrote these lyrics naturally.

"I think so."

After hesitating for a moment, Li Xu said.

Liu Yifei gave a soft "hmm," opened the door, and left.

In the corridor, she recalled the lyrics in her notebook, and the words Jing Tian had casually uttered during Li Xu's phone call with her: "Your business is my business."

"Jing Tian..."

Thinking about Jing Tian's personality, Liu Yifei sighed. She didn't know how to handle her relationship with her next.

She was a little afraid of Jing Tian's possible "two-sided" personality, but she was also unwilling to watch Li Xu be taken away.