The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

A week passed quickly, and Li Ke soon recovered to her best condition under Yan Xiaoli's grueling training. Her body, which had been depleted by alcohol, women, and money, also rejuvenated under her military-style management.

Li Zichun looked at Li Ke, who had become much leaner and more capable, and nodded with satisfaction: "Well done, double your salary this month."

Yan Xiaoli beamed with joy, saying "Thank you, boss" loudly and sincerely, while glancing at Li Ke beside her, who shuddered.

Li Zichun said with a smile, "What, you have a complaint? Now I'll give you a chance to speak."

Li Ke was about to speak, but then held back. The changes in his body over the past week were visible to the naked eye; he hadn't suffered any excessive injury or beatings, just some daily fatigue. Finally, he said softly, "Thank you."

Li Zichun waved his hand and said, "Don't tell me, I didn't do anything."

Li Ke turned slightly to Yan Xiaoli and said deeply, "Thank you."

Yan Xiaoli smiled and said, "Don't say that. I just can't bear to see you sink into such despair. It's just a loss in one game, why are you making such a fuss? It's annoying to watch. If you want to thank someone, you should continue to thank the boss."

Li Ke said with a smile, "But I still have to thank you for your company these past few days, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have been able to make it."

Li Zichun's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. Ha, good heavens, he's developed a liking for being tortured! You're something else.

He coughed twice, interrupting the two from continuing their conversation. Zhao Qianfan also had a "tsk tsk tsk" expression on his face, thinking there was something fishy going on between the two.

Li Zichun couldn't stand it anymore and waved his hand, saying, "Since you're all prepared, then prepare for the online new song concert in a few days. I want Qianfan to become the world's greatest singer, and you can also become the uncrowned king. Of course, if you can't even beat a bunch of kids, then pack your bags and go back to Kowloon Port."

Li Ke nodded and said, "I will definitely complete the mission and live up to expectations."

Li Zichun nodded in satisfaction and said, "Work hard, there's still a lot to do in the next two or three years."

After saying that, he and Zhao Qianfan took a car to the recording site of the singing competition.

Li Zichun's group arrived relatively early. After greeting director Zhang Xiaochuan, they settled down in the lounge to work on their scripts. Zhao Qianfan quietly did her makeup, letting the staff do as they pleased. Qitong, on the other hand, lay quietly on the sofa cushions next to Li Zichun; it loved that soft, cozy feeling.

Zhao Qianfan's program was scheduled later, so the two of them had plenty of time to wait for the final editing. Li Zichun quietly typed away; his historical drama wasn't finished yet. In his plans, such serious dramas were always kept in reserve, just something to practice writing, not something he intended to publish in the next three years. It was simply a farewell gift to leave to the original owner of this body in case he was no longer around.

When Li Zichun got tired of writing, he leaned against the sofa to rest for a while, and stroked the fur of Qi Tong. Then, he took the opportunity to take a long-awaited look at his mute random system.

Current progress: 35%.

Wow, not bad. If you think about it carefully, half a year has passed, and we're almost halfway to 100%.

Li Zichun kept thinking, does one need to have enough capital to be called a "big shot"? In the entertainment industry, having the influence of figures like Su Shi, Zhang Daqian, and Teresa Teng should also qualify one as a big shot, right?

He wasn't clear on the system's evaluation criteria, but since these were the established rules, he would follow them. The Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust Company would be his capital to dominate this world.

After checking the progress bar, he patted Qi Tong's head with satisfaction and continued typing.

When Zhao Qianfan came on stage, they simply said "Go for it!" and then quietly waited for his triumphant return, while also discussing what to eat for dinner.

After a brief introduction by the host, Zhao Qianfan began to sing the song "You":

You who fell from the sky

landed on my horse

Her appearance was like jade, and her eyes were like clear water.

A faint smile made my heart flutter.

You, without looking back, spread your wings.

Searching for direction, the direction is ahead.

A sigh chilled my entire life.

You felt that immense glory in the center of ten thousand people.

Can't I see if there are tears hidden in your eyes?

I don't have the power to forget, and I can never forget.

I can only dream of that once-beloved girl in the dark of night.

......"

In Li Zichun's mind, this song wasn't particularly outstanding, nor could it be considered a hit, but it was still a classic song that left a deep impression, enough to deal with the group of people present.

After learning that the authorities were taking action but not announcing it to the public, he completely lost hope in the Chinese entertainment industry.

If the authorities had handled this matter openly and honestly, they might have considered giving it a more classic song. But this cautious, underhanded approach is not magnanimous at all.

If a malignant tumor rots to the core, and is not eradicated in time, allowing it to continue growing will only drain the nutrients from the surrounding soil and eventually destroy the entire garden.

This song is from the TV series "The Secret History of Xiaozhuang". The singer is Tu Honggang, who is known as the "voice of an emperor". His voice is like a thousand troops and galloping blood.

Actually, his choice of this song had its own twisted sense of humor; it's about how even the most successful and devoted man can't tame a divorced woman with a child. No matter how much your official stance is for the entertainment company and the bigger picture, they might not even give you a second glance.

Li Zichun spoke to Zhao Qianfan in the same way, with a grand and majestic tone, both domineering and deeply affectionate.

Zhao Qianfan's performance was excellent. As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Zichun knew from the first sentence that he was sure to win.

If the first line of a song grabs the listener's attention, the rest will fall into place naturally.

Throughout the entire performance, Zhao Qianfan maintained a consistent output, retaining her first-place ranking.

The official website also included his clip in the promotional video. There were simply too few strong contestants in this year's King of Singers competition. Before the final top ten were reached, everyone felt that they still had a chance.

Li Zichun also scoffed at this kind of large-scale competition, saying that this attitude of looking down on local judges while still wanting local officials to do things was indeed very unpleasant.

In his view, since it is a national singing competition and only local singing champions are selected, then only the local singing champions should participate. Why bring the second and third place winners together for another round of competition? Is it to see who is the strongest among the second and third place winners? What if he wins the local singing champion in the competition? Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the unfairness of the local selection?

He only dared to mutter these words to himself, because this was a major program broadcast on national television every five years. Making a mistake would result in nationwide condemnation.

Li Zichun didn't dare to be too reckless. He needed to leave a way out for the original owner of this body. If he didn't have to worry about the situation of leaving three years later, he would have already flown abroad and taken a bunch of hit songs to blow up the world.

After all, the concept of copyright in the Great Zhou Kingdom only gradually became known to the public after it came here, while foreign countries already have a very mature and complete star-making system.

Li Zichun only needs to release a few hit songs to immediately establish himself and receive a flood of resources. He feels that he is indeed more suited to the world of fame and fortune, where he doesn't have to rely on connections and favors like in China, and in the end, he still has to be mindful of the whims of capital, which can freeze him out if they are unhappy or disobedient.

He has limited time, so it's better to get straight to the point.

When Zhao Qianfan returned backstage, Li Zichun gave him a thumbs-up and that was it.

Zhao Qianfan said unhappily, "I feel like you've been getting more and more perfunctory with me lately. Before, at least you'd give me a hug or say something encouraging, but now it's like everything is taken for granted."

Looking at his mournful tone, Li Zichun frowned and licked his lips, saying, "What kind of encouragement do you want? Like a child, a kiss, a hug, and being lifted up high? Or, 'Hey man, well done!' Don't be silly. You've been by my side for so long. If you can't even sing this kind of song well, then you shouldn't sing at all."

Zhao Qianfan wanted to say something, but held back, and finally sighed, "Sigh, you don't love me as much as you used to."

Li Zichun rolled her eyes and ignored him, continuing to type.

Zhao Qianfan gave it a disdainful look, then turned around and saw that it was Qi Tong with a half-smile on its face. He couldn't help but grab it and start petting and cuddling the cat like crazy.

Seven of Bamboo struggled for a moment, but then became so disheartened that it couldn't be bothered to move. If it couldn't win, it would just have to accept it.

Li Zichun looked at the two lively characters and happily typed with a slight smile.

The television in the room was still showing other singers' competitions. Li Zichun glanced at the television from time to time. Hmm, there were indeed a few singers who knew how to hold back. It seemed that the competition would only get more chaotic as the competition progressed.

Zhao Qianfan remained firmly in first place, with the other contestants close behind. Li Zichun also noticed the final score rankings. It seemed that the same few people were rotating in and out of the second, third, fourth, and fifth positions. He paid a little attention to this match and thought, "Hmm, they do have the potential to be kings and queens."

Li Zichun told Zhao Qianfan to pay special attention to these people, as they might be your competitors.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianfan secretly memorized the names of these people: Ren Tianshou, Fang Yujia, Qian Yuanyuan, and the Haoyu Fenghua duo (Jia Zihao and Jia Ziyu). He listened carefully several times, frowned slightly, and said softly, "Their voices are very distinctive, and their few mistakes seem intentional, but not serious."

Li Zichun smiled and said, "Yes, that's right. It's both a strategy of concealing one's strength and a way to build up momentum for a stunning debut."

Seeing that Zhao Qianfan didn't quite understand, he continued to explain: "It's like a perfect score of 100. If you're someone who always gets 70 or 80 points, and suddenly you get 100, wouldn't you feel surprised and delighted? But if you're someone who always gets 100 points, you'd just take it for granted. If you drop to 95, it means you didn't work hard and performed poorly. They've definitely been preparing their next move for a long time, so you need to be on your guard and deal with it carefully."

Zhao Qianfan nodded, then asked curiously, "The questions are all randomly selected by the official team. If..."

Seeing that he paused and stopped talking, Li Zichun probably understood something and just nodded silently.

Zhao Qianfan gasped, then weakly said, "This... shouldn't be that bad, right?"

Li Zichun smiled dismissively, looked at the two top-notch songwriters on stage, and said softly, "Who can say for sure about such things? After all, it's a show that only happens once every five years. There can only be one most popular singer/singer. Even if a company only promotes one of them and manages them a little, it's enough to keep them standing for a long time to come."

Zhao Qianfan nodded in agreement, but this was an official program. If one wanted to know the questions in advance, one would have to pull strings with countless people. Especially since these two legendary gold medalists were among the question setters, how could they pass so easily? Unless they already knew!

Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan fell silent for a moment, while only Qitong quietly wagged its tail from side to side.

When it was time for the final curtain call, Li Zichun sat nonchalantly in the choreography area, looking at Zhao Qianfan's worried expression and said with a smile, "Alright, stop worrying, I'm here. Any schemes or tricks are worthless in the face of absolute strength."

Seeing his confident demeanor, Zhao Qianfan couldn't help but smile and nodded, saying, "Alright, my dear God of Entertainment."

Li Zichun said with a pleased expression, "No, no, it hasn't reached that level yet."

Li Zichun chuckled, while Zhao Qianfan showered him with praise, leaving the other tables around them stunned.

Before long, Zhang Xiaochuan announced the topic of the next episode: Time.

This question is neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy.

Three or four songs immediately popped into Li Zichun's head, and after thinking for a while, four or five more came to mind. He shook his head and said with a smile, "Hmm, what style do you want to sing?"

Zhao Qianfan rolled her eyes and said, feeling wronged, "Are you too lazy to even call me by my name now? Have you gotten what you wanted...?"

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and the eyes of the people at the surrounding tables shifted slightly towards him, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and lingering interest.

Li Zichun raised an eyebrow and said, "How come I didn't know you were so clingy before... Humph, you sing whatever I write, stop pretending to be weird."

After saying that, he ignored the strange looks from those around him and went into the recording studio on his own.

The word "time" can be interpreted in many ways. It can refer to days, years, or even today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.

Li Zichun quickly made a decision and chose a Faye Wong song to accompany the performance.

Zhao Qianfan followed him in, looked at the sheet music and song in his hand, clicked his tongue twice, and then shut up. This song is going to be a hit.

Zhao Qianfan silently hummed along to the music a few times, then briefly discussed with him the areas that needed improvement before the two of them came out. Because of their inexplicable banter earlier, they were afraid that staying inside too long would cause misunderstandings, so they left after fifteen minutes.

The people at the other tables were still discussing song selection and lyrics when they saw this couple come out, and couldn't help but whisper, "So fast? All show and no substance, neither of them are any good..."

Li Zichun: "......"

Zhao Qianfan: "......"

PS: Data is from the internet.

"You" features lyrics by Chen Tao, music by Zhang Hongguang, and vocals by Tu Honggang. It is the opening theme song for the TV series "The Secret History of Xiaozhuang" and is included in the album "Our Own People".