Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Tang Yingxue strode to the mixing console in her high heels.

She squeezed directly into the narrow gap between Jiang Fan and the mixing console.

Su Yuyan was sitting on Jiang Fan's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.

With a cold face, Tang Yingxue shoved Su Yuyan aside with her shoulder.

Su Yuyan swayed and almost slipped. She steadied herself by bracing herself on the handrail with her right hand, then turned and glared at him.

"Tang Yingxue, don't you understand the concept of first come, first served?"

Tang Yingxue hooked her arms around Jiang Fan's other neck and raised her chin.

"You take the right side, I'll take the left side, it's fair."

Jiang Fan was supported by two people in the middle, and the hydraulic rods of the swivel chair creaked under the strain.

Su Yuyan's gaze fell on Tang Yingxue's calves, which were still trembling.

"He's both terrible at the game and loves to play."

Tang Yingxue's face turned red to her ears, and she subconsciously squeezed her legs together and gritted her teeth.

"Let's have a competition today. Whoever begs for mercy first will have to bow down and call me 'sister' from now on."

Su Yuyan raised an eyebrow and pressed her body against Jiang Fan's chest.

"Alright. I'll see how long they can hold out."

Just a few minutes later, Tang Yingxue turned her head and looked at Su Yuyan next to her.

"Su Yuyan, please help me, I beg you..."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuyan's lips were about to curl upwards.

Jiang Fan has changed direction.

Su Yuyan's body swayed uncontrollably toward Tang Yingxue.

Tang Yingxue reached out and grabbed Su Yuyan's shoulder.

Su Yuyan didn't shake her off, but instead wrapped her arms around Tang Yingxue's waist.

The accompaniment to "Misplaced Time and Space" was still looping on the monitor speakers.

The recording studio door remained locked.

A red recording indicator light was on outside the door.

Outside.

Li Cheng stood in the corridor, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

Zhou Yutong, the receptionist, walked over and peeked into the corridor.

"Brother Cheng, what big project are Brother Jiang and the two divas discussing inside? They've been inside for almost three hours."

Li Cheng waved his hand and lowered his voice.

"The big bosses are talking about deals worth hundreds of millions. We ordinary folks shouldn't pry. Let's just go back to the front desk."

Zhou Yutong stuck out her tongue and turned back to the front desk.

Inside the recording studio.

A system notification sounded in Jiang Fan's mind.

【Ding. 】

[Deep Compatibility x3, Lifespan +18000 points.]

Current lifespan: 348300 points.

Tang Yingxue's tight-fitting knit sweater was pulled down to below her shoulders, her jeans were thrown on the carpet, and her two long legs were limply draped over the edge of the sofa.

Su Yuyan's skirt was rolled up to her waist.

Jiang Fan stood up, picked up his clothes from the ground, and put them on.

He walked over to the mixing console, picked up the bottle of mineral water on the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp.

Jiang Fan turned around and looked at the two people on the sofa.

"You two are equally bad."

Tang Yingxue's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this.

She wanted to argue, but could only manage a weak hum.

Su Yuyan didn't even bother to hum, and buried her head in the sofa cushions.

A long time passed.

Tang Yingxue barely managed to raise one hand and weakly pushed Su Yuyan beside her.

"Su Yuyan... could you bring me my jeans...?"

Su Yuyan closed her eyes and spoke weakly.

"Get lost... Don't you have hands?"

"My hand is cramping..."

"My leg is cramping..."

The two of them collapsed onto the sofa, neither of them able to move.

After resting for more than ten minutes, they helped each other slowly stand up and get dressed.

Each of them, carrying a USB drive with copied songs, limped out of the studio.

……

three days later.

Kyoto, backstage meeting room of CCTV Studio One.

The atmosphere was oppressive.

Zhang Guoqiang, the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, slammed a stack of sheet music onto the conference table.

The dozen or so senior directors in the conference room didn't dare to breathe loudly.

"Is this the final piece you submitted?"

Zhang Guoqiang pointed his finger at the head of the music group and cursed.

"No fancy words, no empty rhetoric! I want songs that resonate with the entire nation, songs that express a deep sense of national pride and patriotism, not just empty platitudes!"

Zhang Guoqiang pulled out one of the sheet music pieces and slammed it down with a loud bang.

"Look at this song, 'Prosperous Times,' what's there besides flowery language? It's empty and boring! How can ordinary people resonate with it?"

The music group leader wiped his sweat and forced himself to speak.

"Director Zhang, it's hard to write songs with a main theme. The older generation of lyricists and composers have run out of ideas, and the younger generation only knows how to write about love. If all else fails, pick an old song from a few years ago and cover it."

"A cover song? My Spring Festival Gala, which I, Zhang Guoqiang, am directing, is going to have a cover song as the closing act?"

Zhang Guoqiang laughed in anger.

The assistant director tried to smooth things over.

"Director Zhang, this morning Universal Entertainment and Time Media each submitted a demo of a new song. They said it was specially prepared for the Spring Festival Gala."

Zhang Guoqiang leaned back in his chair with a cold expression.

"put."

The assistant director plugged the silver USB drive into the computer and opened the audio file.

"Ten Thousand Frontiers".

The prelude begins.

The powerful drumbeats, accompanied by the melodious flute sounds, burst forth directly from the high-fidelity speakers.

A profound sense of history instantly filled the entire conference room.

Zhang Guoqiang's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, staring at the screen.

Tang Yingxue's highly penetrating voice cuts in.

"The red sun rises in the east, its great road is filled with rosy light..."

There were no empty slogans. Every word and phrase was written on the backbone of the Chinese people.

The progress bar has moved to the chorus.

The melodious and complex opera singing suddenly erupted without warning.

Zhang Guoqiang pressed his hands firmly against the table, his eyes fixed on the audio track jumping on the player.

His breathing became heavy.

The other directors in the conference room sat up straight, their eyes fixed on the direction of the speakers.

The song ended.

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

"good!"

Zhang Guoqiang slammed his hand on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"This song is set to be the closing number at midnight! Contact Universal Entertainment immediately and lock in Tang Yingxue's schedule!"

The assistant director swallowed hard, his finger remaining on the mouse.

"Director Zhang. Times Media... also submitted a song."

Zhang Guoqiang waved his hand.

"No need to listen anymore. The scope and vocal prowess of 'Wanjiang' are unmatched in the current Chinese music scene. Whatever Times Media submits is useless. Just return it."

The music group leader wiped the sweat from his brow, finally managing to calm the man down.

"Director Zhang, there's one more song."

The assistant director removed the silver USB drive and replaced it with a black one.

Zhang Guoqiang waved his hand: "No need to listen."

"The song 'Wanjiang' has already pushed the main theme to its extreme; no other song can be better than it."

The assistant director had his hand on the mouse and hadn't unplugged the USB drive.

"Director Zhang, the theme of this song submitted by Times Media is a dialogue across a century."

Zhang Guoqiang was stunned for a moment.

A dialogue across time and space?

"put."

The assistant director double-clicked the mouse.

"Misplaced Time and Space" May Fourth Special Edition.

The deep sound of a military drum rang out first, followed by Su Yuyan's voice, which carried a natural storytelling quality, flowing from the speaker.

That year, you were as young as I was...

It lacks the grandeur and exuberance of "Ten Thousand Frontiers".

The song begins with a strong sense of historical narrative.

The progress bar has reached the chorus.

"I felt the evening breeze that you felt, so does that mean we've embraced..."

In the conference room, a director in his sixties took off his reading glasses.

He took out a tissue from his pocket and silently wiped the corner of his eye.

The female director in charge of the language-based programs next to him looked up at the ceiling, her eyes red-rimmed.

The music stopped.

Only suppressed sobs could be heard in the meeting room.

Two songs, two insurmountable mountains.

"Wanjiang" sings of the rise of a great nation, and the safety of its mountains and rivers.

"Misplaced Time and Space" sings of the sacrifices of our ancestors, and the peaceful years ahead.

Removing any song would be a huge loss for this year's Spring Festival Gala, and even more so for the entire Chinese music scene.

Zhang Guoqiang suddenly looked up and stared at the assistant director: "Which reclusive music master in China produced these two songs?"

The assistant director flipped through the documents in his hand. His gaze fell on the lyricist and composer section, and his expression became extremely strange.

"Director Zhang, the lyricist and composer of these two songs are the same person."

"Who?" Zhang Guoqiang pressed.

The assistant director swallowed hard and uttered two words.

"Jiang Fan".

No one responded in the meeting room.

Zhang Guoqiang quickly searched his mind for the name.

Professors from major music conservatories, principals of national orchestras, retired lyricists and composers... none of them were named Jiang Fan.

"Who is Jiang Fan?" Zhang Guoqiang asked.

The assistant director did not answer directly.

He silently pulled out an approval form that had been prepared earlier from the bottom of the pile of documents.

That's Xu Qingya's "As You Wish".

The assistant director pushed the approval form in front of Zhang Guoqiang.

Zhang Guoqiang looked down.

The lyricist and composer's name is clearly written as Jiang Fan.

"Director Zhang, the film you previously commissioned, 'As You Wish,' was also written by him."

The assistant director's voice sounded somewhat hoarse in the quiet conference room.

Zhang Guoqiang suddenly stood up, the chair behind him scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

Three divas, three divine main themes worthy of being recorded in the history of Chinese music.

They were all made by the same person!

"How old is he?" Zhang Guoqiang's throat was dry.

"Twenty-one years old."

The assistant director had done his research, and even he found it absurd to say it now.

At the age of 21, he wrote three nationally acclaimed masterpieces.

The music group leader stared with his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

He was just now confidently saying that young people only write about love and romance. Now, any one of these three songs could easily slap the entire music team in the face.

Zhang Guoqiang stared at the USB drive on the table and remained silent for a full minute.

He rested his hands on the table, staring at the assistant director.

"Schedule all three songs during prime time!"

The music group leader panicked and stood up to stop them.

"Director Zhang! This is against the rules!"

"Never in the history of the Spring Festival Gala has a lyricist and composer been able to occupy three prime-time slots simultaneously! The censors wouldn't approve it! Besides, he's only twenty-one years old; his qualifications are simply not convincing enough!"

"Qualifications?" Zhang Guoqiang sneered, pointing to the three USB drives on the table.

"These three songs are right here; that's the highest level of experience I have! Go find someone with real experience and write me a song that can surpass these three! If you can find one, I'll cross Jiang Fan's name off the charts today!"

The music group leader was speechless, his face flushed as he sat down.

"I set the rules! I'll personally handle the review process!"

Zhang Guoqiang slammed his hand on the table.

He turned to look at the assistant director.

"Contact Jiang Fan immediately."

Zhang Guoqiang gave a firm order: "Spar with all means to get him to serve as the music director for this year's Spring Festival Gala!"

"Director Zhang, this..." The assistant director was stunned. "The music director for the Spring Festival Gala has always been a veteran within the system..."

"Could a veteran writer produce a novel like 'Ten Thousand Frontiers'? Could they write a novel like 'Misplaced Time and Space'?"

Zhang Guoqiang raised his voice.

"The capable rise, the mediocre fall! Go make the call now!"

The assistant director dared not try to persuade him any further. He picked up his phone, found the contact information for Fanyin Studio, and dialed the number.

……

Shanghai, Fanyin Studio.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Jiang Fan sat in the boss's chair in the office.

Tang Yingxue and Su Yuyan are both away today, making the studio unusually quiet.

The phone on the table vibrated.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number from Kyoto.

Jiang Fan pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, who is this?"

A slightly excited male voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang Fan! I am Li Ming, the assistant director of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala directing team."

Jiang Fan's gaze lingered on Hou Jinlai's name on the interview list on the table, and he asked in a flat tone, "Is there something you need?"

Li Ming organized his thoughts for a moment on the other end of the phone before speaking respectfully.

"Teacher Jiang, Director Zhang Guoqiang has approved all of your submissions, 'Wanjiang' and 'Misplaced Time and Space,' along with the previous 'Ruyuan,' for solo performances during prime time."

"Mm," Jiang Fan replied.

Li Ming paused for two seconds on the other end of the phone, not expecting Jiang Fan's tone to be so calm, and his voice became even lower.

"Teacher Jiang, Director Zhang has another request."

Li Ming immediately revealed his trump card.

"Director Zhang, on behalf of the Spring Festival Gala directing team, would like to formally invite you to serve as the music director for this year's Spring Festival Gala. If you agree, you can name your terms."

Jiang Fan stopped flipping through the list.

Spring Festival Gala Music Director!

"Okay," Jiang Fan agreed readily, "but I have two conditions."

"Please speak!" Li Ming said excitedly.

"First, I'm only responsible for music coordination and finalization; I don't participate in your station's administrative meetings, so I don't have time."

"No problem! Director Zhang said he'll give you absolute artistic privileges!"

"Secondly," Jiang Fan glanced at the promotional plan for "Goodbye Mr. Loser" on the table.

"I want to include a whole team in the comedy sketches for the Spring Festival Gala."

On the other end of the phone, Li Ming wiped the sweat from his palms.

The comedy sketches on the Spring Festival Gala have always been the most fiercely contested battleground.

Every single spot involves huge conflicts of interest.

"Teacher Jiang, which team do you want to send to?" Li Ming asked tentatively.

"Shen Feng Drama Troupe".

Jiang Fan uttered a name.

Li Ming was stunned. Shen Feng Drama Troupe? He'd never even heard of it.

"Teacher Jiang, this... the censorship of language-based programs is very strict; the station director personally oversees everything. Having a completely unknown drama troupe parachuted in like this puts a lot of pressure on me..."

Li Ming attempted to explain the difficulties within the system.

"That's your problem." Jiang Fan's tone was completely flat. "If it's impossible, then forget about the music director position. I can take back the copyrights to those three songs at any time."

Domineering, with no room for negotiation.

Li Ming gasped on the other end of the phone.

If anyone else had dared to threaten the Spring Festival Gala production team like that, they would have been blacklisted long ago.

Li Ming turned to look at Zhang Guoqiang sitting next to him.

Zhang Guoqiang pressed his ear against the back of the phone and heard it clearly.

Without hesitation, he nodded heavily to Li Ming.

With the director's instructions, Li Ming gritted his teeth.

"Alright! As long as their case is passable, I'll decide to send it directly to the final review!"

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Jiang Fan hung up the phone.

He tossed his phone onto the table, a slight smile playing on his lips.

With the Spring Festival Gala as a super springboard.

The box office performance of "Goodbye Mr. Loser" is guaranteed.