After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 101 Across Mountains and Rivers

"#The Mandarin Music Music Center announces a program upgrade, officially renamed 'Mandarin Music Music Center: Red Song Season'!#"

While the popularity of "Little River Flowing 1952" and "Landscape Painting" was still raging, the program "Chinese Music Music Center" broke through the encirclement with this topic, occupying the top spot on the trending search list of various platforms and attracting countless viewers!

What's going on? Upgrading?

[You think you're some kind of war god, Xing Tian? Leveling up...]

【Wow, I just took a look, and it turns out this whole thing has become a patriotic song program!】

[Hahaha... Has it been subdued by our Great Emperor Ming'en?]

At first, many netizens thought that this was a perk given to Shen Mingen by the production team after they had subdued him.

But soon, comments like these began to appear in the comments section:
[Tsk, not necessarily. This is almost a calculated move. Apparently, the production team plans to invite many well-known patriotic song composers, all of whom are very experienced and talented.]

[Does that mean they plan to increase the difficulty, using patriotic songs against patriotic songs, in order to target Shen Ming'en?]

Upon realizing this, netizens went into a frenzy of criticism!

[Ber, are your production team even human?]

[You guys have made a fortune off of others, and you haven't even counted a single bit of it?!]

[I did the math, and those hosts now spend over half an hour just reading commercials each episode, not to mention the commercial breaks. How much money are they making from that?! And you're still targeting them?!]

[Your production team byd*&%￥#@……]

As always, there was a barrage of criticism from netizens, but unlike before, this time, while people were criticizing the production team, they had no real reason to "report" them...

Normally, they could have used the excuse that the show wanted to eliminate Shen Ming'en, who sang patriotic songs and expressed his fervent love for the motherland, to report them for being "biased"...

But now that they're seriously singing revolutionary songs and have officially upgraded their program to promote revolutionary songs, what excuse do you still have to report them?

They're truly on the right track now!
This is a blatant "open conspiracy," letting everyone know the intentions of this lousy program, yet leaving them helpless against it.

One netizen couldn't help but comment: "This lousy show really learned a lot from Shen Ming'en!"

This "open conspiracy" using "red" is exactly what Shen Ming'en is best at, isn't it?

It was precisely because of this sense of helplessness that the audience's anger intensified, and discussions about upgrading the "Chinese Music Awards" program skyrocketed.

Around the same time, news suddenly broke from the Olympics side next door, stating: "The Olympic theme song has been chosen!"

After rigorous selection, the final Olympic countdown promotional theme song, sung by a group of stars, has been chosen and announced as "Beijing Welcomes You".

The news shocked many netizens, as the creators of the Olympic theme song were all highly accomplished and well-known. Before the selection was announced, many people were discussing and speculating about which creator's work would be chosen, but the result was quite unexpected...

The creator of this song, "Beijing Welcomes You," was not a well-known composer at all. Instead, it was a completely unknown newcomer named Shen Jichou, whose name had never been heard of before.

Naturally, there were some dissenting voices online, but it was at this moment that the organizers released the reasons for choosing this song...

The song "Beijing Welcomes You" does not use the seven notes of the Western musical scale, but instead uses the five notes of the traditional Chinese musical scale "Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, Yu". It is grand and pleasant to listen to, and has Chinese cultural characteristics. At the same time, each line of the lyrics ends with "i", which is exquisite and ingenious. The lyrics and composition are also catchy and almost completely meet the requirements of the organizers. This is why it won the final selection after multiple rounds of voting.

Many people in the comments section didn't know what "Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, Yu" meant, but it sounded impressive. After a marketing account provided a brief explanation, the controversy subsided, and the discussion shifted to who would sing the song.

Because it was an international event, the organizers of the song "Beijing Welcomes You" decided to invite a host of stars to sing together. There were about 100 singers who were planned to participate in the recording. Looking at them, they were all top-tier celebrities or well-known stars, and all of them were powerful performers. There wasn't a single young idol in sight.

Well-known singers such as Zhou Chujian, Zheng Yun, and Lu Anqing are all on the list, making it no exaggeration to call it a super-luxurious "super galaxy battleship".

But soon someone discovered...

Why isn't Shen Ming'en mentioned?

Some people couldn't help but wonder, logically speaking, Zheng Yun and Lu Anqing, who participated in the "Chinese Music Center" program with Shen Mingen and were trampled on by Shen Mingen like crushing pebbles, were all on the list, so why wasn't Shen Mingen on the list?
Countless netizens looked closely and repeatedly but couldn't find Shen Ming'en's name, which only added to their confusion...

In terms of traffic, popularity, works, and the degree of "fame", Shen Ming'en is better than most of these people.
Aside from his relatively short tenure, he is practically flawless.

An event of this caliber should not be based on seniority. It's one thing that he wasn't included in the songwriting, but why wasn't he among the more than one hundred singers who could participate in the recording?

Even if he's terrible, he shouldn't be so bad as to not be ranked in the top 100 of the Chinese entertainment industry, right?

"Ha~"

While at home, Zhou Chujian scrolled through similar comments after receiving the news, laughing smugly.

Others may not know why Shen Ming'en isn't on the list, but surely he does?

Not to mention Shen Ming'en, none of the artists from Ruixing Entertainment were on the list. This is what happens when you offend him!
"Ha~"

At the same time, in Qingdao, at the newly chosen filming location, the Yanyu B&B, Shen Ming'en, who was watering his garlic bulbs, smiled happily upon seeing the news online.

He thought to himself, "Some idiots are probably gloating right now because he's not among the singers."
Yes, Ni Die is not among the singers, but you should know, son, Ni Die is a songwriter!
The song that you all fight tooth and nail to sing the best parts of was written by Ni Die!

That's the most embarrassing thing ever!
Shen Ming'en could almost picture how interesting their expressions would be when the "Beijing Welcomes You" MV came out and they started mocking him, and he then posted a letter of authorization for the pen name "Shen Jichou" from "Beijing Welcomes You".

"Pattering..."

Clear, bright white water was sprinkled under the daffodils, making them wet and moist. Green leaves had already sprouted from the white, garlic-shaped daffodils, straight and upright. At first, they looked a bit like scallion leaves, sharp and slender, with a great momentum to reach the sky!
"Ding-dong..."

After watering the plants for a while, Shen Ming'en suddenly heard his phone ring. He had no choice but to put down the watering can and go to his room to get his phone. To his surprise, the caller was the person in charge of the theme song solicitation for the Olympics from last time.

The moment the call connected, the person on the other end said, "Congratulations, Mr. Ming! Your work has been selected as the theme song for the countdown promotion! When I first received your work, I thought it was inexplicably beautiful, and you certainly lived up to expectations! *&%￥#@…"

This guy started with a barrage of polite compliments, making Shen Ming'en a little embarrassed. But Shen Ming'en didn't really listen to the praise. After all, he knew very well that the other party wouldn't call just to congratulate him; he had already received the notification of his selection.

As expected, after a brief congratulation and pleasantries, the person on the other end of the phone quickly said, "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, you may not be able to participate in the performance and recording of the countdown promotion theme song, Mr. Ming'en. However, we have secured another opportunity for you to create a song for the performance on that day. If you can stand out from the crowd, you can get a solo performance opportunity."

"A solo performance?" Shen Ming'en was a little stunned. He scratched his head and asked, "Um, if I may ask, was this opportunity given to me by the organizers or... did someone help me get it?"

I feel like I'm being "specially treated"...

The previous spot for creating the theme song was one thing, but this time they've given us a solo performance spot. Isn't that a bit much?
Please!

The song "Beijing Welcomes You" involved hundreds of celebrities in its recording, and there were probably seventy or eighty people performing it live. With so many people squeezing in a song, one should be grateful to even get a chance to sing it. On such an important occasion, he sang it all by himself.
Even Shen Ming'en himself wouldn't believe that there weren't some connections helping him behind the scenes.

"Well..." The person on the other end of the phone seemed to think for a moment, and then cautiously replied, "Mr. Ming'en, what you said is true. Your strength is obvious to all, and your fans will naturally fight for you. We, the organizers, have also taken these voices into consideration."

"It's not you... Ugh..." Shen Ming'en looked troubled and didn't know how to ask for a moment. Well, people in this kind of job are definitely very careful. Even if they could tell you secretly, they wouldn't tell you over the phone. They're afraid you'll record them.

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to sense Shen Ming'en's anxiety and said frankly, "Teacher Ming'en, you don't need to worry too much. You should know that the number of places is not important. In the end, you will stand out from the crowd with your own work."

"What you're saying is sparrow food~" Shen Ming'en's smile was hard to suppress.

The two chatted briefly for a while. The man asked Shen Ming'en if he needed to use the pseudonym "Beijing Welcomes You" again this time. It's worth mentioning that when he asked, he subtly hinted to Shen Ming'en that this solo performance was an internally circulated spot. Everyone knew about this process, but the specifics of who would sing which song would not be announced. Those in the know had to sign confidentiality agreements to prevent the work from being leaked...

After realizing what was going on, Shen Ming'en thought to himself that since no one else would know, it wouldn't be a problem to just use his real name.

And so, the two finalized some details.

It's worth mentioning that before hanging up the phone, the person on the other end casually mentioned to Shen Ming'en that there would be another theme song for the opening ceremony that would be open for submissions, and Shen Ming'en would most likely have another spot. This spot would be similar in nature to the "solo performance spot" this time, and would basically be announced on the day of the event.

"Ha~"

Shen Ming'en was amused, thinking to himself, "Isn't this giving me a chance to play dumb and outsmart everyone?"

I wonder how interesting the expressions will be on Zhou Chujian's and those people waiting to mock him when I sing two solos in a row on the opening day.

Thinking this, Shen Ming'en recorded a demo after hanging up the phone and sent it to the email address provided by the organizer. The song title for the solo performance was: "Thousands of Mountains and Rivers"!
Half of the Chinese music scene collaborated on his song "Beijing Welcomes You," while the other half sang "Thousands of Mountains and Rivers" solo. So, how much of the Chinese music scene does he actually dominate?
This is a thought-provoking question, hahaha...

It was already late after recording the demo. Shen Ming'en changed his clothes, put on a grey baseball cap (typical actor's cap) to cover his messy hair, and planned to go to a restaurant for something to eat. The weather wasn't great today; the mountain temperatures in April were unpredictable, with occasional strong winds. Last night, Shen Ming'en had received a strong wind warning text message from the weather bureau, saying there would be level 4 gales. He hadn't felt it before going out, but once he stepped outside, the wind really felt like it was blowing him forward…

The wind whistled around him, making his ears ring. Shen Ming'en quickly zipped up his jacket, swiftly crossed the beach and outdoor camping tents, and arrived at the restaurant of the new hotel.

I thought the hotel restaurant would be empty at this time, but as soon as I entered, I found it packed with people, and not only that, it was also very noisy, with constant chatter.

"boom!"

The sounds of plates and cups being smashed on the ground were incessant, and the voices of artists, assistants, team members, and the production crew confronting each other were particularly prominent.

"What right do you have to tell us to leave so easily?!"

"Do you even realize that this constitutes a breach of contract?!"

"You guys in the production team are all... you *&%fuck you #@..."

There were many people, and Shen Ming'en could spot Zheng Yun, Ji Cheng, Lu Anqing, and others among them. Almost every one of them, along with their assistants and team members, was angrily pointing their fingers at the program crew members and cursing.

A group of staff and managers were comforting them, while Director Niu happily went off to drink tea, looking relaxed and content.

"What's wrong?" Shen Ming'en walked over and tugged at Feng Yucan's sleeve, asking curiously.

"What else could have happened?" Feng Yucan sighed helplessly and said, "The show was upgraded, and all of us except you were kicked out. They went to protest, that's why."

As soon as these words came out...

Shen Ming'en was taken aback.

then……

"puff……"

I couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.

You can't think about this too much, or you'll burst out laughing.

Those idiots Zheng Yun and Ji Cheng caused trouble on set last time, leaving before the show was even finished, resulting in a serious stage accident. They were hoping to use this to challenge the production team, hoping to stir up public opinion and gain sympathy from netizens so they could negotiate some terms with the production team...

The results of it?
As a result, although their incident did make it to the trending topics, everyone's attention was drawn to Shen Ming'en's "Little River Flowing 1952" and "Landscape Painting". Later, with the program upgrade and the Olympics, their incident was completely submerged in the trending topics.

Not only did netizens have little sympathy for them, but even the production team completely abandoned them. These idiots had previously tried to threaten the production team by filing lawsuits to terminate their contracts, but unexpectedly, the production team happened to be upgrading the show and took the opportunity to agree to their request to terminate the contracts. Both parties agreed to terminate the contracts, and with the help of the capital behind the scenes, although the process was not completed, they could no longer continue recording the show.

By the time Zheng Yun and Ji Cheng realized what was happening, the contract termination process was already underway!

How can they not be angry?!

They just wanted to cause trouble for their own benefit; none of them ever really intended to leave the show!

Who the hell doesn't know how popular, how high the viewership is, and how much discussion is generated by the show "Chinese Music Awards"?!

Capitalists all know this is a lucrative opportunity; are they stupid enough not to know?
Oh no...

This group of people are making a huge fuss.

At first, they were throwing and smashing things, but seeing the production team's firm stance, they simply started groveling and saying nice things...

Red songs, right?

I can write revolutionary songs too!
I can also perfectly handle the Red Song Season, give me a chance!

It's a pity, the production team is determined not to include them. No matter how much they plead, it's no use. Director Niu just sits there drinking tea and doesn't pay any attention to them at all.

"What are you making a fuss about?" Feng Yucan was also angry when he brought it up. If these idiots hadn't insisted on making a scene and finding reasons to terminate the contract, the production team wouldn't have been able to do so so smoothly even if they didn't want to play with them anymore. Now, they've been made a fool of.

“Sparrow food.” Shen Ming’en couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

He thought that if he were one of these people, he would be fawning over the production team and himself at the same time. These idiots don't even know who the "person in charge," "traffic driver," and "topic generator" of this show are. Do they really want the production team to kick out Shen Ming'en, the living father who attracts all kinds of sugar daddies?

She's already a prostitute, and she still wants to act like a saint? She's so childish!
"Stop gloating," Feng Yucan couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Your brother got kicked out too."

"Hey, you've benefited a lot too, be content." Shen Ming'en kept saying "contentment brings happiness," and last week's "Drifting to the North" certainly earned Feng Yucan a lot of publicity.

“…Yao Shuli was also kicked out,” Feng Yucan said.

"Huh?" Shen Ming'en was taken aback, and his smile immediately froze.

Feng Yucan: "..."

He couldn't help but complain, "You're exactly the kind of person who forgets his friends for the sake of a pretty face!"

Shen Ming'en pursed his lips, about to say something, when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him: "I'm fine."

Looking over, a goddess with an aura of opera singing, dressed in a pure white long dress with a light blue shirt, gracefully approached. As Shen Ming'en and Feng Yucan turned their attention to her, they heard Yao Shuli say, "I just happened to be participating in another music variety show, and I couldn't adjust my schedule. These kinds of creative programs are usually very troublesome, so I'll take a break."

The sky was overcast with little sunshine, but amidst the gloom, Yao Shuli's smile was like sunshine, bringing warmth to people.

"So it's because I dragged you into this, right?" Shen Ming'en scratched his head and finally said this.

If it weren't for targeting him, those investors wouldn't have upgraded the show, wouldn't have given it a major overhaul, and wouldn't have let Yao Shuli, Feng Yucan, and others leave.

Shen Ming'en didn't care if others left, but he really didn't want Yao Shuli and Feng Yucan to leave.

Having transmigrated to a parallel world, Shen Ming'en was all alone, with no one to accompany him. Apart from the two of them, no one helped him. The thought that he might be all alone in the future made him quite unaccustomed to it.

"Of course!" Feng Yucan retorted mercilessly, "If it weren't for you, you bastard, *&￥#@%..."

"You'd better make it up to me, brother, you know that?"

“Oh, it’s alright,” Yao Shuli said. “Don’t blame yourself…”

Shen Ming'en: "(￢_￢) Shoot"

"Now you know why I don't care about you, right?" Shen Ming'en said to Feng Yucan.

He even forgot his friends for the sake of a pretty girl...

With your foul mouth, who would care about your plain fried dough!
The banter between the two made Yao Shuli laugh. She really didn't blame Shen Mingen; in fact, she felt a little sorry for him because Shen Mingen's situation would only get more and more difficult.

Before leaving, Yao Shuli gave Shen Mingen a gold bracelet from a brand she endorsed, featuring a four-leaf clover design, representing luck, happiness, health, and... love.

From now on, I probably won't be able to help him much. I can only hope that he will be blessed by Lady Luck and overcome every obstacle.

The wind howled incessantly by the sea. To be honest, Shen Ming'en disliked farewells, especially seeing people off, but he felt it wouldn't be right not to see them off, so he ended up seeing Feng Yucan and Yao Shuli off anyway.

Hugs and farewells, there's nothing to be reluctant about. After all, it's not a matter of life and death, and we can see each other anytime we want. It's just that we won't be working together like before.

As Feng Yucan said, he still owes others favors, which he will have to repay sooner or later!
After seeing everyone off, Shen Ming'en returned to the restaurant and cooked and studied as usual. He took a nap at noon, and in the afternoon, he saw cars coming to the hotel one after another.

Judging from their demeanor, they are most likely new guests participating in "Chinese Music Music Center: Red Song Season". Because they are all well-known songwriters and singers with long-standing experience, director Niu Zhi and the program's main creative team were welcoming them at the hotel entrance. It is said that they will hold a special welcome ceremony for them...

Shen Ming'en was invited, but unfortunately he wasn't interested in attending; he simply doesn't like pretentious projects.

After the guest lineup was changed, the production team also announced the topic for the next episode, which was the first episode of "Red Song Season," to everyone.

As the first episode after the program's upgrade, the theme had to be clear enough. Based on the program's name, "Chinese Music Music Center," the production team gave a theme of a "Chinese" patriotic song.

Create patriotic songs with "Chinese language" as the theme!
……

(End of this chapter)