The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

Li Zichun told Xu Chengfeng two passages from "Cai Gen Tan". The first passage was to tell him, in case Director Zhang Yimao asked about the reason for needing to hide his identity, "A gentleman's thoughts are as clear as the sun and the sky, and should not be kept secret; a gentleman's talents are like jade hidden in a box or pearls, and should not be easily known."

If a famous director and a renowned screenwriter cannot understand the meaning of this sentence, then it's best not to collaborate.

As for the second paragraph, it was addressed to the Chinese and foreign literature appreciation meeting, and also to everyone present: "Those who uphold morality will be lonely for a time; those who fawn upon power will be desolate for eternity. The wise person observes things beyond the material world and thinks about what will happen after death. He would rather endure temporary loneliness than suffer eternal desolation."

Xu Chengfeng pondered these two paragraphs repeatedly. This young man is truly talented. He only hoped that the entertainment industry could be cleaned up this time, so that he could return with peace of mind. Fortunately, he only went to Kowloon Island in the south, unlike others who actually went abroad to settle down.

Xu Chengfeng brought Xu Qiunian with great enthusiasm, but left in trepidation and silence.

The two left the venue under Ma Qian's guidance. She had always been curious whether the head of the National Academy of Literature of the Great Zhou Kingdom needed to consult a musician in the entertainment industry who was engaged in songwriting.

She was just a guide, and it wasn't appropriate for her to ask directly, so she didn't say it aloud.

After getting involved with them, Li Zichun lay down on the sofa again, this time for real. Before falling asleep, he said, "Remember to wake me up when you leave after the match."

Zhao Qianfan took off his clothes and covered him with them. Although Li Zichun hadn't had the headaches he used to have recently, he was still very sleepy at times, which he attributed to overworking his brain.

Qi Tong was about to jump onto the sofa and lie down when Zhao Qianfan grabbed him in his arms and whispered, "Don't disturb him, let him rest for a while."

After saying that, he sat down to the side with the Seven Bamboos in his arms, watching the silent television, waiting for the final collective curtain call.

When Li Zichun woke up from his nap, Zhao Qianfan had already gone to the front desk. On the TV, you could see Qitong wagging its tail on a stool next to it, meowing twice at it, and swaying its rear end toward him.

Li Zichun rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, I'll take you there now."

After Li Zichun took Qitong to the restroom, Ma Qian came to call him because they needed to go to a designated creative area for the next round of recording. Upon hearing this, he immediately carried Qitong to the other side of the stage to wait for the recording to finish, and also to see what the theme of the first round of the competition was.

The creative area is on the third floor of the main venue. You can see a group of handsome men and beautiful women standing in the center of the stage, which is quite a sight to behold.

Zhao Qianfan's eyes lit up when he saw him appear, and the other contestants probably noticed him and the dog as well, all of them looking amused.

Li Zichun also found it amusing, because all the tables in the creative areas were full of people, while their table was just one person and one cat, which was really too conspicuous.

The camera even gave them a close-up shot. Qi Tong rolled his eyes at the camera and brazenly sat at the table licking his genitals...

I gently stroked my fur with my tongue.

Li Zichun tossed the cat leash aside, pretending not to see it, and played on her phone, quietly waiting for the production team to give her the questions. During this time, she took the opportunity to look around at the furnishings and people.

The third floor is a closed library, surrounded by research materials and books, as well as a specially designed, top-notch, silent recording studio for voice acting and composition. Teams must work with singers within a specific timeframe to complete the next episode's assigned topic and submit it. Alternatively, they can choose to return to their studios to create their own music, but their votes for the following week will be counted at 10% of the original score.

It sounds a bit inhumane that a singer needs to be able to sing and speak, produce lyrics and music, know how to coordinate, and be able to perform. Li Zichun now understands why there are only four living top-notch songwriters.

He even began to wonder if the other four had also traveled from another planet. If they didn't have a huge repertoire of songs already proven in the market prepared in their minds, who could possibly write so many great songs perfectly within the allotted time?

Either they are exceptionally talented and accept all comers, or it must be a shady operation where they knew the questions beforehand.

Li Zichun naturally falls into the former category. Although he can't recall the entirety of Chinese culture, he has the constant stream of excellent songs and catchy tunes as a safety net, making him virtually unstoppable.

Zhao Qianfan quickly finished the recording in front of the camera and came to the table on the third floor. Li Zichun put down his phone and waited quietly with him for everyone to arrive.

The first episode has come to an end, officially concluding with the announcement that the theme of the next episode will be "You/Me/Him".

This topic is actually very easy to write about; it could even be considered a bonus topic. After all, which song isn't about you, me, and everyone else?

The questions were simple, but they were just meant to let everyone get used to the pace of the competition.

Li Zichun looked at Zhao Qianfan, yawned, and said, "Is there a time limit for writing lyrics and composing music? Wouldn't it be too conspicuous to go now?"

Zhao Qianfan shook his head: "No, as long as it's you, I'll do whatever I want."

Li Zichun smiled and asked, "What kind of song do you want to sing?"

Zhao Qianfan said with a smile, "Anything is fine, I'm not picky, I'll sing whatever you want me to sing."

Li Zichun nodded and smiled, "Then let's just pick a decent one. The sooner we get it over with, the better. We can also go see where Li Ke is hiding and fooling around."

After saying that, he took Zhao Qianfan and headed straight to the recording studio with great enthusiasm.

The singers at the other tables were also a bit stunned by what they saw. Even if you have a repertoire of ideas, you should at least pretend, otherwise it's a bit too audacious.

Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan only stayed in the recording studio for half an hour before coming out, which was incredibly fast. What could have been done in ten minutes was mainly due to Zhao Qianfan's slow familiarity with the song, requiring Li Zichun to teach him repeatedly, as there were a few notes he couldn't reach.

Li Zichun even suspected that he was doing it on purpose, just to spend more time with her. After a lot of commotion, the two finally left the recording studio.

Half an hour seemed unbelievable to everyone; many teams hadn't even entered their own recording studios yet. These two men were incredibly fast.

After a brief handover with the production team, the two left without any hesitation.

When Zhang Xiaochuan received the news, he almost wanted to curse Ma Qian to death, but considering her identity, he kept quiet and only told her to inform him in advance next time.

After saying that, he immediately called Li Zichun.

Li Zichun was already on her way when she received his call. She calmly replied, "Hello, Director Zhang, is there anything I can help you with?"

Zhang Xiaochuan responded with a smile: "That's right, today's opening performance was a great success. I was just wondering if you'd like to come on stage again next time?"

Li Zichun said knowingly, "Director Zhang, you know I don't want to have too much involvement with the Chinese entertainment industry."

Zhang Xiaochuan said slowly and deliberately, "Is that so? It's just singing a song, it's not a big deal."

Li Zichun thought for a moment and said, "You have a week between each recording session, right? You can make good use of the other people. You can shoot some behind-the-scenes footage and post-production, and bring them together for a new song concert related to the theme of the previous episode or something."

Zhang Xiaochuan said with a happy expression, "A new song concert is fine, but I'm not comfortable with it if you're not the one leading the way. Besides, it would be more convenient for you to be a guest recording guest for the next episode."

Li Zichun said with a smile, "I'd like to, but I really have a lot of things to do and don't want to waste too much time on this. I hope you can find someone else. Aren't there two top-notch songwriters on the main judging panel? You could try contacting them."

Zhang Xiaochuan said with a bitter face, "You know, these national team experts are directly appointed by the government. I can't get them to come."

Li Zichun said helplessly, "Then there's nothing I can do to help you."

Zhang Xiaochuan said stubbornly, "No way! The ratings for this singing competition depend entirely on you!"

Li Zichun said with a smile, "Don't flatter me. If the other singing kings knew that you could make up so many stories about them, they would be furious."

Zhang Xiaochuan persisted for another half hour before finally giving up. In the end, Li Zichun chose the "new song concert" over the "opening show of each music competition" because he found Li Ke, who was completely drunk, in the bar.

Li Zichun smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, I have other things to do, so I won't continue chatting with you. By the way, the theme of that new song concert needs to be set after each round of performances, otherwise, I'm afraid the songs will be too good and steal the spotlight from your regular programs." Zhang Xiaochuan beamed, "Great! Don't worry, I've thought it all out. This program can be considered a spin-off of the King of Singers program. You can choose from the existing singers, or you can invite them yourself. I'll apply for remuneration for each song for you, so you won't work for free. And in the end, it will also be featured on the program's official website and played repeatedly."

Li Zichun said with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of offending the Eight Entertainments by doing this?"

Zhang Xiaochuan chuckled and said, "It's alright. They're too busy cleaning up the messes of their own celebrities right now. Let me tell you, several former top stars have already been arrested."

Li Zichun hesitated slightly before asking, "Really?"

Zhang Xiaochuan said in a low voice, "But the news is still being blocked. If the evidence is conclusive, they'll all be in serious trouble. Even the company's top executives will be implicated. The country is really taking drastic measures this time."

Li Zichun was somewhat surprised, but then smiled calmly and said, "Hehe, whatever, I don't mind. That's all. I've arrived here, so I'll hang up now."

Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan found Li Ke, who was completely drunk, in a corner of the crowded bar.

Seeing the two of them approaching, Li Ke realized there was no way to avoid them, and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, saying, "Why are you two here to laugh at me too?"

Li Zichun frowned as he was overwhelmed by the strong smell of alcohol. He immediately said to his agent, Yan Xiaoli, "Knock him out and carry him back. He can talk to me when he's sober."

Yan Xiaoli had been with him for some time. Although she was not particularly beautiful, she had served as a female soldier. Although she was an ordinary person, she had a great temperament and was decisive in handling matters. So he felt at ease letting her come to the mainland with Li Ke. He never expected that she would be eliminated before even reaching the finals.

Yan Xiaoli understood that the person in front of her was the most authoritative among the Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust, so she quickly nodded in agreement. With a karate chop, she knocked Li Ke unconscious, and then, to everyone's astonishment, she carried the man into the car.

Li Zichun took the work notes handed to him by Yan Xiaoli and roughly understood the ins and outs of the whole matter in the car.

Luo Feiyu had been eliminated the day before he arrived, and cut off all contact with him, simply saying "We're not a good match" before leaving.

As for the "Sleeping Beauty," she was also forcibly taken away for investigation due to the recent "clean-up" operation in the entertainment industry of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

Li Zichun glanced at Li Ke's recent activities; she was either drinking or lying in bed, practically living a life of decadence. He then looked at her career plan and nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, you did a good job. But next time he disobeys, you can just act first and ask permission later."

Yan Xiaoli hesitated for a moment: "You mean like this?"

Li Zichun said with a smile, "You understand the responsibilities of an agent, but I hope you can be more yourself. If you don't like him, just take action yourself. There's no need to always pamper and respect him."

Yan Xiaoli nodded and said, "I understand. I will make him sober up after tomorrow."

Li Zichun said with a smile, "No need to rush, there's still a week, is that enough? I hope you can help him become more self-disciplined."

Yan Xiaoli smiled gently and said, "That's enough. A week is enough time to change a person."

Li Zichun nodded in satisfaction, handed the work notes back to her, and pointed out areas for improvement.

Yan Xiaoli and Zhao Qianfan listened attentively, noting that everything from food and accommodation to activity arrangements and appearance time was meticulously planned.

Yan Xiaoli secretly added the information to her work file, her admiration for this nominal boss growing stronger.

Li Zichun arranged for the two of them to stay in the villa prepared by Zhao Qianfan. Anyway, the house was big and had many rooms, so it wouldn't hurt to have two more people. Moreover, there was a greenway and 24-hour access control monitoring nearby, which would be enough for Yan Xiaoli to adjust Li Ke's training to the best condition within a week.

Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan were enjoying tea in the garden.

Li Zichun typed with a blank expression, pausing occasionally to think for a moment before continuing to type.

Zhao Qianfan sat quietly to the side, reading the book "To Live". In his spare time, he would listen to Li Ke's screams inside and outside the courtyard. Hmm, it was quite comforting.

PS:

*Cai Gen Tan* is a collection of Confucian classics compiled by Hong Yingming, a Daoist priest of the Ming Dynasty. It is a collection of sayings discussing self-cultivation, life, conduct in the world, and transcendence. The saying goes, "If you can endure hardship, you can accomplish anything." *Cai Gen Tan* draws on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, with its core being the philosophy of mind and Zen. It encompasses profound principles of self-cultivation, family management, governance, and bringing peace to the world. Furthermore, due to its integration of philosophy of life, art of living, and aesthetic appreciation, it is also an inspiring work of Chinese literature, hailed as "the first book on self-cultivation and conduct for the Chinese people," and one of the three classic texts on self-cultivation in China.