The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

After hanging up the phone, Fan Liwen held her wine glass and looked out the window at the flickering lights of countless homes and the cars rushing by in the night. She was a little unsure herself and asked Xu Yi, who was organizing documents, "What do you think of this Li Zichun?"

“Just look with your eyes. Words aren’t important; actions are. He’s young and ambitious, and we need this sharp blade just the way he is. Why not?” Xu Yi loosened his tie and pushed a detailed document about Li Zichun’s life in front of her. He said softly, “What are you worried about? This person grew up in an orphanage, has a clean background, is a good student, and has no bad habits. Although he has some tricks and scheming, isn’t that perfect for the entertainment industry?”

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. I just have a feeling that he's not ordinary."

"A woman's sixth sense? Is he worrying too much? Before contacting us, did anyone from other companies approach him?"

"It's just a woman's intuition; I always felt that he was someone special."

"Could someone who can impress our Huating Entertainment's general manager with a song be an ordinary person? Regardless of his motives, he's in our hands now. The 'god-making' campaign at Dynasty Entertainment is about to begin, and for the sake of fairness, the authorities will also intervene. Whether we can secure our place among the top eight entertainment companies depends on this upcoming battle of the eight kings."

"Hmm, have we finalized our team? We can have Li Zichun join us too."

"Several top songwriters are already preparing, so there's no need to let him join directly for now. We can let him start by selecting from local TV stations. If he gets promoted too quickly, he won't have a strong fan base, which will be detrimental to his later development and ranking."

"Let's do it this way for now. We've already asked him to select singers from our pool and start with local TV stations. We don't know if we can hold out before foreign forces flood in."

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate. The entertainment industry has been too comfortable for too long, and Dynasty Entertainment has been in the leading position for too long. They have overreached and lost all drive to expand after two failed attempts in international markets. Even the authorities can't stand it anymore."

“Sun Tianxing is getting old after all. He has been in charge of Dynasty Entertainment for so many years, and the entertainment industry is no longer his main business. In recent years, he has focused on clothing and catering. As for the other companies, they are all under the Dynasty umbrella and have long become its vassals, so they are not a concern. As long as we win the title of Song God or Lyric God this time, it will be enough for us to gain a foothold.”

"Nevertheless, Dynasty Entertainment's foundation should not be underestimated. Even though they have focused on popularity in recent years, their three top singers have not chosen to leave. As for the other smaller companies, they don't have any outstanding talents at the moment, so there's no need to pay too much attention to them."

"That's all for now. Let's keep an eye on it for now, and we can consider investing if there are any good ones."

……

Li Zichun slept until noon the next day. Qi Tong was lying on the sofa, fast asleep. He glanced at Li Zichun with half-closed eyes for a while, then ignored him.

Li Zichun glanced at the text message from his seventh uncle on his phone and invited him to come to his house to discuss the song.

The song I wrote for Uncle Seven is "Gentleman," which was written and composed by Xue Zhiqian himself: "It's been a long time since I've seen him, what role have you played?"

I'm dressed up carefully; the cufflinks on my white shirt were a gift from you.

Try to act like you don't care.

The frequent exposure of self-deceiving individuals

The more you try to hide it, the deeper it becomes / You say, I say, I've heard /

A passage where one tries to suppress their true feelings /

I've decided to just suffer in silence...

Uncle Qi's eyes welled up with tears as he watched. Before he could react, Li Zichun continued, "Don't be so sentimental. It's just a breakup. You're still so young. You'll face many more difficulties in the future."

Uncle Qi's initial gratitude was crushed. Li Zichun continued, "Have you rented the recording studio? We'll go record this afternoon, and I'll accompany you and arrange the music. Tomorrow is next month, just in time to release the song. I'll be going back to school in a few days, so I won't have much time to waste on you. If you don't sing well tonight, you won't get any rest tonight."

Uncle Qi took a deep breath and bowed deeply: "Thank you. I thought you would be upset that I didn't tell you beforehand and set you up. My aunt kept nagging me for a long time before I agreed. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me."

Looking at his sincere apology and his large, handsome eyes staring at him, Li Zichun couldn't help but sigh that she was also someone who judged by appearance. She shook her head and said, "It's okay. Let bygones be bygones. Anyway, we both got what we wanted, so let's not say anything more. Let's get ready to head to the recording studio."

Uncle Qi nodded gratefully and gave Li Zichun a big hug, but the guy was so tall and the hug was so tight that it almost suffocated him. Li Zichun pushed his head away with his hand and said, "Alright, alright," before the two went downstairs and headed straight for the recording studio.

Although Huating Entertainment ranks last among the eight major entertainment companies, it has long since established branches in various locations. While not large, these branches are fully equipped. The staff at the Rongcheng branch are primarily involved in post-production and other business operations. The recording studio is quite small, as most people record their songs in Beijing and release them directly. Therefore, when Uncle Qi brought Li Zichun to the building to complete the onboarding procedures and prepare for recording, Xu Songlin, the company's head, was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Xu Songlin was the head of the Chengdu branch, dispatched from Beijing. Naturally, he knew Seventh Uncle's identity. Because the recording studio was soundproof and semi-transparent, he could only see Seventh Uncle bowing and scraping as Li Zichun scolded him from the outside. He couldn't help but wonder if this guy had some special fetish, and he became even more curious about this student-looking man.

As a top student at Rongcheng University, Li Zichun naturally had a knack for using these recording devices, thanks to the original owner's memories. However, Uncle Qi's emotions were always a little lacking. He couldn't help but raise his voice, taking a sip of water when he got tired before continuing to explain the singing method to him, emphasizing the rise and fall of the lyrics and the rhythm of the music, as well as the intonation of the voice. Due to the visual angle, Uncle Qi was just half a head taller than Li Zichun, so Xu Songlin thought the two of them were doing something unspeakable inside.

With Li Zichun's repeated appearances and instruction, Uncle Seven finally finished recording the entire song before dinner time. After Li Zichun finished editing, he clicked play: "

I want to touch your hair / It's just a simple test /

I want to give you a hug, like before, is that okay?

Were you serious about taking half a step back?

Even small movements can cause so much damage.

I can only speak to you by playing the role of a gentleman…

Uncle Qi listened to the finished recording and was amazed at how well he sang. Li Zichun stroked his chin and continued listening: "Can I take you home? / It might rain outside / Can I give you a hug? / Like a friend, okay?"

I couldn't help but hug you from behind.

The line is drawn between not being able to say "I miss you".

Just consider it a joke made by a gentleman you just met…

Li Zichun patiently listened to the entire song, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He told himself that he must be careful about who he spoke to and who he chose to talk to in the future, otherwise he would be exhausted sooner or later if everyone was so difficult to deal with.

Uncle Qi couldn't help but sigh with admiration after listening. He realized a song could actually be recorded in just one afternoon; it used to take several days. Xu Songlin, as the person in charge, accompanied them during the recording and listened attentively to the entire song. He felt that while he couldn't guarantee it would win first place, it was certainly a shoo-in for the top five on the current music charts. He looked at Li Zichun with a hint of respect. In his memory, a song usually took at least several days to complete, but this person had finished it in hundreds of takes. This person was destined for greatness.

Li Zichun stretched his muscles and declined Uncle Qi and Xu Songlin's invitation to have dinner together, then went straight home by car.

Uncle Qi said to Xu Songlin, feeling dejected, "Old Xu, did I sing that badly?"

Xu Songlin watched Li Zichun's departing figure and said, "No, I think you sang very well. This song might even become one of your signature works."

Uncle Qi sighed: "That means my strength hasn't met his requirements. I need to work harder."

Seeing Xiao Qi's indignant yet determined expression, Xu Songlin couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. This kid had really worked hard; how much effort must he have put in to secure his current position in his own company? President Fan's method of training him was truly unique and beyond reproach.

After leaving the company, Li Zichun didn't go straight home. Instead, he wandered around, having his driver drop him off at a square and then lingering nearby. This was a habit he carried over from his previous life; he liked to pace around when he was thinking, especially in places with pebbles.

After strolling around the square for a while, he finally let out a long sigh. The afternoon's recording had given him a headache, partly because Uncle Qi's singing skills were limited, partly because Qi Tong wasn't around, and partly because the system was barking incessantly, like a time bomb in his brain that could explode at any moment. He was certain that if he didn't make any progress for a long time, the system would definitely just erase him, and the cause of death would be some modern-day ailment like a cerebral hemorrhage or overwork, leaving no trace for others to find out.

Li Zichun secretly made up his mind that he would keep the Seven Bamboos with him from now on. He had always thought that the system's recognition of the Seven Bamboos as a gold-devouring beast was just a popular joke. He had heard some fantastical stories about the spirit world when he chatted with the ghosts in the underworld, and he always thought they were ancient stories. Now it seemed that they were true. After all, he was able to reincarnate into the next world with his memories, so other worlds should also exist. What he needed to do now was to complete the system mission as soon as possible, return to the underworld, and deactivate the system, which was like a time bomb. Otherwise, when the time came, he would really disappear from this next world.

Li Zichun sat on a bench in the square, rubbing his slightly dizzy head. He let out a long breath; it seemed he needed to move forward aggressively and quickly. Luckily, he had been careful when signing the contract with Fan Liwen. If he could achieve two consecutive ten-hit runs on the new song charts in this world, he wouldn't have to wait two years for twenty number-one singles; he could directly obtain company shares.

Fan Liwen probably thought this condition was just a pipe dream at the time, but she simply smiled and nodded in agreement. One person challenging the entire entertainment industry? Ha, she's still young, too young indeed.

So this afternoon, after receiving the list of potential singers and their audio recordings from Uncle Qi, which Fan Liwen had asked him to bring, Li Zichun had a general understanding of the singing abilities of Huating Entertainment's singers. He guessed that these people were just amateurs; after all, the company's real stars were the main force used to compete in the market, and it wasn't up to him to contact them. Finding ten people on the list from the company was indeed difficult, but he did find two decent ones and told Uncle Qi to arrange a meeting in a week.

It seems that only by becoming a truly outstanding person in the industry can one attract truly outstanding singers. He doesn't believe that there aren't ten legendary singers on Earth. There are always hidden masters among ordinary people. Even if there aren't any, he'll search for them himself, like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Li Zichun wandered aimlessly in the square, constantly encouraging himself. Suddenly, a song drifted over, and he was overjoyed. He quickly went to find the source of the sound.

A handsome, middle-aged man with a slightly mature appearance was playing and singing in the square. His voice was clear, friendly, and warm. Although his pitch was not high, it made people feel very comfortable. People around him stopped and nodded politely. It seemed that he had found a treasure.

To avoid disturbing his performance, Li Zichun listened to all of his songs until 9:30 when he finished work before approaching him to chat. He noticed a woman and a child helping him pack up his equipment, but didn't pay much attention.

After Li Zichun proactively expressed his willingness to cooperate, the other party paused for a moment, while the woman and child beside him seemed a little excited. Before he could reply, Li Zichun continued, "I know this is a bit rushed. If possible, could we find a barbecue restaurant or a coffee shop to continue our discussion?"