The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

Without much thought, three or four songs about "wind" immediately popped into Li Zichun's mind. In the end, he had Zhao Qianfan pronounce a few notes, and after much deliberation, he chose "The Wind Blows Through the Wheat Fields".

The first song that popped into his mind was "The Wind Rises," but to be on the safe side, he ultimately chose this one instead.

The reason this song was ultimately chosen is, of course, because it was performed on the Spring Festival Gala. A song that has been selected through several rounds of auditions for such a major program is the only one that can guarantee a flawless performance on this stage.

Zhao Qianfan stood gracefully on the stage and began to sing this simple and romantic song:

Golden waves of wheat rippled under the distant azure sky.

That's where you and I once loved.

When the breeze, carrying the scent of harvest, brushes against my face...

I remember your gentle words, which once brought tears to my eyes.

Hmm... La... Hmm... La...

We sang in the fields, and longed for winter.

But I didn't get to see this autumn scene under the sunlight.

Let the vows of the past dance in the wind, drifting away with the west wind.

Just like your soft, long hair, which once perfumed my dreams.

Hmm...la...hmm...la~~~

......"

This song features extensive humming, free and unrestrained, creating a striking contrast driven by the rhythm. The classical music arrangement breathes new life into the work. The piece weaves a light and romantic scene with instruments such as piano, harp, string quintet, and woodwinds; the melody replaces the original vocal depiction of wheat fields, resulting in a more aesthetically pleasing effect.

Li Zichun chose this song because it fits the theme of "wind, flowers, snow, and moon" better. In its gentle and harmonious melody, it evokes people's nostalgia and longing for the simple and beautiful emotions of the past.

There's no overtly romantic, life-or-death love story; all emotions are hidden in the golden waves of wheat rippling in the wind. It carries a poetic subtlety and romantic beauty, everything is understood without words.

Zhao Qianfan's poetic recitation captivated everyone present. They all thought he would win the competition again, but the score of this match greatly exceeded their expectations.

Based on the combined number of viewers and votes, Zhao Qianfan received 1,824,408 votes. However, because she only performed the "wind" theme, her votes could only be counted as one-quarter of the final number. Therefore, her final vote count was 456,102, placing her third to last and just before the elimination round.

The final vote count caused an uproar; a clear first place had suddenly become third from last. The reason given by the two top judges was infuriating: "The theme is 'wind, flowers, snow, and moon,' but if we only use the 'wind' element, it misses the mark..."

This one sentence almost made Li Zichun explode on the spot. This stupid show really knows how to play. It doesn't explain things clearly. It just throws a question at you and then leaves you to figure it out yourself. It's like a damn final exam.

What troubled Li Zichun even more was that the song "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon" that he hummed in the creative studio was used as a template and displayed on the big screen, which was a blatant insult and an attempt to sow discord.

The audience and netizens alike turned their attention to why he changed the song. Although his humming was somewhat casual, it was indeed about wind, flowers, snow, and the moon.

Netizens and the public have begun to criticize him, with many expressing sympathy for Zhao Qianfan. Some even called for Zhao Qianfan to replace Li Zichun and collaborate with other songwriters and composers. Meanwhile, the old "Moon Emperor's Fall" incident involving Li Zichun has been dredged up again by some, used to further vilify him and portray him as a talented but immoral hypocrite...

Everyone has their share of scandals! You say you don't? We'll create them for you. When everyone's attention is focused on you, scandals will come easily, and even breathing will feel like a sin.

Seeing this, Li Zichun was ready to tear him apart from the eighteenth level of hell. He couldn't believe it wasn't premeditated.

Everyone was swept up in the rhythm, but quite a few people remained clear-headed. You see, this song "The Wind Blows the Wheat" achieved the highest number of votes in this round. Although it only got a quarter of the votes, it still advanced. The eliminated singers looked at him with respect, not admiration.

Because of Zhao Qianfan's defeat, Ren Tianshou won first place in this competition, followed by Fang Yujia, the Haoyu Fenghua duo, and Qian Yuanyuan. These players are incredibly consistent, always ranking in the top five.

After the performance, Li Zichun sat quietly in the choreography area, stroking Qi Tong's body, patiently waiting for Zhao Qianfan's arrival. The other teams didn't dare disturb him, but whispers and pointing were inevitable.

The movement to create and destroy gods is nothing more than a game of profit-making by capital. Li Zichun is now considering not only the legitimacy of this competition and the fairness of the judging of the king of singers, but also the influence of capital on the competition. Did director Zhang Xiaochuan know about it? Or was it all orchestrated by him? After all, nothing is more topical and impactful than the fall of the god emperor. This episode is sure to have explosive ratings and a lot of trending topics and discussions.

The famous line from the novel "Urban Supreme Heavenly Lord" that went viral online came to mind: "The peak welcomes false supporters, and dusk witnesses devout believers."

Fortunately, no one else stood out in this episode. If Zhao Qianfan had been eliminated, he probably would have been drowned in their criticism.

Li Zichun was sitting in his seat playing with Qi Tong when Zhao Qianfan suddenly came over, hugged him, and said, "I didn't get first place, I've embarrassed you."

Li Zichun smiled and patted his back, saying, "Who told you that you have to be number one in every round? Our goal is the King of Singers trophy, not just being number one in every round."

Zhao Qianfan snorted: "But I still feel wronged for you."

Li Zichun patted his forehead, gesturing for him to sit down: "I don't feel wronged at all, why are you worrying about it?"

Zhao Qianfan said with dissatisfaction, "I just feel it's unfair. They clearly had the highest score, but ended up being among the last few. Anyone would feel uncomfortable in that situation."

Li Zichun chuckled: "Justice resides in the hearts of the people, there's no need to be so calculating. You should thank so many people for liking you, which is why you survived."

Zhao Qianfan nodded without saying anything, but his expression still showed some displeasure.

Li Zichun patiently comforted him, saying, "This is my fault for not understanding the question properly, otherwise you wouldn't have suffered this injustice."

Zhao Qianfan quickly said, "I wasn't wronged, I just disagree with their judgment."

Li Zichun said with a smile, "Well, they are the judges, and the people who make the rules can interpret them however they want. I was hoping you would win the title of King of Singers before, but now it seems there was no need for that. If it weren't for the rule that you can't withdraw from the competition and have to pay so much money, I would have liked to go back to Kowloon Port."

Zhao Qianfan nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Kowloon is still the most comfortable. How about we just sing a slightly worse song next time and leave?"

Li Zichun rolled his eyes and said, "What? You don't trust me that much?"

Zhao Qianfan laughed and said, "Hehe, how could that be? But if it's like this in every game, wouldn't that be too unfair?"

Li Zichun flicked his nose with his index finger and said, "Hehe, have you forgotten who made you stay for this match?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianfan understood after a moment's thought. That's right, he was chosen by the public, not by this ridiculous competition. As long as he firmly grasped the hearts of the masses, these schemes and tricks were useless.

Seeing that he had come to his senses, Li Zichun smiled and said, "The masses are the main body of music. Our songs are sung for the masses, not for these judges on the stage."

Zhao Qianfan nodded in agreement, agreeing, but he still said, unwilling to give up, "But this can't go on forever. Should we do what they do and find some hot girls to dance around on stage?"

Li Zichun nodded, then shook his head and said, "It's not the right time yet. If you want a junior sister, you can choose one yourself when we return to Kowloon. We'll create a globally popular girl group then."

Zhao Qianfan nodded and said, "Okay, whatever you say."

The two exchanged these words back and forth, and then director Zhang Xiaochuan came over with the questions. He glanced at Li Zichun with a slightly apologetic look, and quickly looked away.

As everyone knows, the theme for next week will be announced.

After Zhang Xiaochuan finished praising and complimenting the wording, he finally announced the theme for the next episode: "Animals".

After he finished speaking, he stepped down, and then it was the turn of each team to perform.

After hearing the name, Li Zichun sighed, "Animals, we need to learn a lesson this time."

Zhao Qianfan said with a smile, "Already have it? So fast."

Li Zichun shook his head and said, "It's not that I've lost, but I feel that if I lose again this time, I might as well just go back to Kowloon Port."

Zhao Qianfan watched him go to the recording studio with a smile, and waited quietly.

Five minutes later, the green light came on, and Zhao Qianfan went in for his audition. Five minutes later, the two of them handed in their materials and left.

The people watching the live stream online were in an uproar; the speed was simply too fast.

Ma Qian, Jia Hui, and Liu Wancun were yawning as they waited at the door, and were a little confused when they saw the two of them come out. Ma Qian checked her watch; shouldn't they be in the creative area at this hour?

Seeing her bewildered expression, Li Zichun laughed and said, "Why are you spacing out? Let's go, big reporter."

Ma Qian asked in a low voice, puzzled, "Didn't you advance? Why did you leave so quickly?"

Before Li Zichun could answer, Zhao Qianfan chimed in, "Of course the lyrics and music are already finished."

Seeing the two get into the car, Ma Qian still couldn't give up and said, "So fast this time?"

Li Zichun rolled his eyes and said speechlessly, "What do you mean 'fast'! This is called quick thinking, okay!"

Jia Hui and Liu Wancun chuckled softly, and Ma Qian realized her slip of the tongue, making a few awkward noises. The internet buzzed with excitement because of this little incident, and topics related to the show quickly rose to the top of the trending searches.

A battle between the masses and the rules, a clash between talent and capital.

The gentle breeze could not stir the withered wheat fields.

This man is so fast.

After a defeat, should one give up or simply give up?

How many more grievances remain?

......

Li Zichun held his phone, only glancing at the hashtags briefly before moving on; media people really know how to find topics.

Li Zichun aimlessly glanced at the news, finding many headlines novel and interesting even to him. He couldn't help but think of the eye-catching headlines from Hong Kong media in his past life: "Black Pearl Feast Strikes Hong Kong," "TVXQ Gets Excited!", "Double Demon Man-Eating Flower," "Jay Chou, Having Sex with His New Love in a Dark Alley," "Zhou Bichang Receives Huang Weiweng's Excrement!", "Luxury Bus Heads to the Luxury Family!", "He's a Bomb Disposal Expert," "Lingbo Ribs," "Giant Sparrow Welcomes the Morning," "Lin Yun Stopped Her Period for 4 Months to Satisfy Stephen Chow!", "Jackie Chan Angrily Knocked Down His Child, Flying 5 Meters Through the Air," "Giant Lung Princess's Universe Diaper Explodes the Earth!", "A Horse Tramples the Waves of the Century"...

The netizens went in with excitement, but left dejectedly.

Despite the outrageous exaggeration of these headlines, one has to admire the brilliant and creative writing style of Hong Kong media professionals.

Having witnessed the sensationalist headlines of Hong Kong media, Li Zichun finds the entertainment media professionals of this world utterly uninteresting and lacking in originality; one can tell what kind of nonsense they're going to talk about just by reading the headline.

The two quickly returned home and began the next step of their plan.

Since we've decided to let the masses decide the outcome, we must be fully prepared to shatter all the rules. If you don't play by the rules, then don't blame me for unleashing my ultimate weapon.

The fastest way to gain popularity and establish a mass following is, of course, through catchy, over-the-top songs and square dance music. Li Zichun plans to make his "Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust" a household name across the country.

One must eat one bite at a time, and do one thing at a time. Li Zichun asked Yan Xiaoli to contact a recording studio that would be available for tomorrow, and handed over the lyrics and sheet music he had written there to Zhao Qianfan and Li Ke. As for himself, since they were the Three Musketeers, and he was "Li Yuehe's" senior brother, he naturally had to represent her in the battle.

Music was originally designed to unite people and spread power, and square dance music has been extremely successful in this regard. From the very young to the very old, there's no group it can't reach. This time, it aims to make capital bow down to it.

That evening, persuaded and coaxed by Li Zichun, Zhao Qianfan and Li Ke exchanged a glance, looking at each other with awkward expressions as they stood shirtless, and filmed a music video that they would never forget, so much so that they would feel ashamed every time it was mentioned afterward. This music video also made them household names, a nationwide sensation, and a topic of conversation that people would laugh about.

PS: Data is from the internet.

《风吹麦浪》是李健作词、作曲并演唱、赵兆编曲的歌曲。该歌曲先是收录于2007年李健发行的个人专辑《想念你》中，2013年又收录在李健的个人专辑《拾光》中。该曲是电视剧《女人的战争》的片尾曲。2007年李健凭该曲获得2007年度北京流行音乐典礼最佳作词奖，2013年李健与孙俪在2013年中央电视台春节联欢晚会上演唱该曲。2014年编曲人赵兆凭借该曲获得第25届台湾金曲奖最佳编曲人奖。