After being dumped by the diva, I was picked up by her arch-enemy.

The pen tip moved quickly across the musical staff.

"What you want is not me, but vanity."

"Only when someone cares for you do you stand out."

"I fell into a blind, infatuated tolerance."

"It fulfilled your dream of becoming the beloved queen of the world."

"If love is nothing but temptation, then all that's left is mutual endurance."

"Stop torturing each other, because we're both at fault."

..........

After writing the last line of lyrics, Jiang Yichen casually closed his pen.

He leaned back in his chair, looking at the densely packed musical notes and words on the paper.

This song, "Queen of Heaven," was a huge hit in its previous life.

The melody is catchy, and the lyrics are even more poignant.

Isn't Brilliant Entertainment going to pour resources into promoting Shen Ruoqiu to become the queen of the entertainment industry?

Then let Lin Qinghe sing "Queen of Heaven".

Let the audience see who the real queen of pop is!

.........

Early the next morning.

Jiang Yichen did not go to the front yard of the theater to join in the fun.

He contacted a top-tier music studio in Beijing's East Third Ring Road online.

We took a taxi straight to our destination.

The studio owner was a middle-aged, artsy man with long hair, wearing a floral shirt and playing with walnuts in his hand.

Seeing that Jiang Yichen was so young, they assumed he was just some rich second-generation kid who had too much money to spend and was here to experience life.

"The tents are charged by the hour, and you will be charged for any damage to the equipment."

The boss, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, spoke casually.

Without wasting any words, Jiang Yichen directly scanned the code and paid the deposit for ten hours.

Push open the door to the recording studio.

I sat down at the music arranger keyboard.

As the fingers fell, a series of smooth piano chords poured out.

The boss paused in his hand as he was about to light a cigarette, not even noticing the flame from the lighter burning his beard.

Jiang Yichen put on his monitoring headphones and became completely immersed in his own world.

His hands flew across the keyboard.

Long, slender fingers left afterimages.

The left hand controls the direction of the bass, while the right hand precisely cuts into the accents of the snare drum.

He skillfully recorded, cut, and reassembled various audio tracks.

The boss stood outside the glass wall, his eyes wide open.

This isn't some rich kid here to experience life; this is a human music composer!

For the next two days, Jiang Yichen practically lived in the recording studio.

When I'm hungry, I order takeout; when I'm sleepy, I take a nap on the sofa.

He meticulously crafted every detail of "Queen" to perfection.

Two days later.

Jiang Yichen took off his headphones and pressed the save button.

The accompaniment is complete.

The boss stood to the side, looking at the dense yet orderly audio tracks on the screen, and swallowed hard.

"Dude, your music..." the boss gave a thumbs up. "Absolutely amazing."

.......

The sunlight in Beijing was a bit too bright.

Back in his room in Nancheng Hutong, Jiang Yichen turned on his computer.

Package the lyrics file and high-quality backing track audio into a single compressed file.

Open WeChat and find Gu Ruanxing's profile picture.

send.

The file transfer progress bar is slowly turning up.

Jiang Yichen typed another line and sent it.

"A new song, for Lin Qinghe."

After sending the message, he threw his phone on the table, before Gu Ruanxing could respond.

First, I received a call from Chen Hao.

Jiang Yichen pressed the answer button.

"Brother Jiang, it's all done."

Chen Hao's excited voice came through the receiver.

"So fast."

Jiang Yichen was somewhat surprised.

All told, it's only been less than a week.

"That's a must."

Chen Hao was breathing heavily on the other end of the phone.

"I dragged my buddies and we stayed up all night in the computer room for several days in a row."

My liver is about to explode.

"I've already sent you the finished product on WeChat. Take a look while you can, bro. I'm going to catch up on some sleep."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yichen opened WeChat.

A high-definition video file, several gigabytes in size, lay quietly in the chat box.

Click to download.

After the progress bar finished spinning, Jiang Yichen clicked play.

The image instantly filled the screen.

The scene at the old opera house in Huairou presents an extreme sense of oppression on camera.

A deep blue background light, and a thick fog created by dry ice.

Chen Hao's camera work is very skillful.

There are no unnecessary or wasted shots.

The opening scene shows Jiang Yichen and Meng Lingyu fighting back-to-back among a horde of zombies.

The movements were swift and decisive, each strike drawing blood.

Jiang Yichen delivered a side kick, sending the onrushing zombie flying.

Meng Lingyu flipped the dagger in her hand, slicing through the air in a sharp arc.

The sense of rivalry between the two, where they disliked each other yet had to cooperate, was captured perfectly by the camera.

Then the scene changes.

We returned to Nanjing in 1937.

The bayonets of the Japanese invaders, the cries of the people.

Jiang Yichen and Meng Lingyu stood on the stage, their Peking Opera masks conveying an eerie and tragic feeling.

Especially the last fire.

Chen Hao's post-production special effects were extremely realistic.

Flames engulfed the wooden beams, and tongues of fire licked at the costumes worn by the two actors.

Jiang Yichen's operatic line, "Now the two of us stand here to cast our spells," rang out.

Accompanied by stirring and tragic background music.

The emotional tension was immediately brought to a maximum.

Even Jiang Yichen, one of the actors, felt his scalp tingle just looking at the screen.

This kid is definitely a genius.

Jiang Yichen exited the video call and sent Chen Hao a voice message.

"Well done, the final product is perfect."

I just exited the chat interface with Chen Hao.

A caller ID suddenly popped up at the top of my phone screen.

Mentor: Gong Changge.

Jiang Yichen paused for a moment, then pressed the answer button.

"teacher."

Gong Changge's strong voice came from the other end of the phone.

"You've been making quite a stir online lately, haven't you?"

Gong Changge's tone carried a hint of admiration.

Jiang Yichen's lips curled up. "Just messing around, trying to attract some people to the theater troupe."

"Don't try to be modest with me," Gong Changge said, feigning a cold tone. "Are you free today?"

Jiang Yichen glanced at his fellow apprentices who were stretching their legs in the courtyard: "When you have time, just let me know."

"Get ready, change into something more presentable." Gong Changge's tone became serious. "I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama."

"Today I'll take you to meet your grandmaster."

Jiang Yichen's heart stirred slightly.

Grandmaster.

A towering figure in Chinese opera.

Previously, I was besieged by those old fogies online, and it was this grandmaster who spoke up and calmed the storm.

This is a real big shot.

"Understood, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yichen walked to the wardrobe and picked out a well-tailored black casual suit to change into.

I straightened my collar in front of the mirror.

He pushed open the door and went out.

In the courtyard, Tan Yunxiao was practicing with a spear when he saw Jiang Yichen's attire and stopped what he was doing.

"Third brother, let's go out."

Jiang Yichen nodded.

"I'm going to see an elder. Keep an eye on things at the theater troupe."

"Don't worry. With me here, nothing will go wrong," Tan Yunxiao assured him, patting his chest.

Jiang Yichen stepped out of the vermilion gate.

Outside the alley, traffic was heavy. He hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Central Academy of Drama.

The scenery outside the car window rushed past.

The taxi stopped in front of the Central Academy of Drama.

Gong Changge, dressed in a gray Tang suit, was standing next to the stone lion at the school gate.

Seeing Jiang Yichen get out of the car, he pointed to a black sedan parked on the side of the road.

"Get in the car."

Gong Changge opened the car door.

"Your grandmaster has a bad temper. When we get there, speak less and listen more."

Jiang Yichen nodded and bent down to get into the back seat.

The car doors slammed shut.

The black Hongqi sedan merged into the traffic and headed towards the western suburbs of Beijing.