The man of scumbag Gulnazar

The curtain slowly fell on the third rehearsal, and the song recording was successfully completed. Immediately afterwards, Qin Tian plunged into the cram school craze. This time, the cram school was specifically for the Beijing Film Academy entrance exam. Previously, he had focused all his attention on the Beijing Film Academy but knew nothing about the exam content. Fortunately, Sun Qian was resourceful and found an acquaintance to hire a teacher to give Qin Tian private tutoring, providing one-on-one instruction.

However, while Qin Tian was engrossed in his studies, Zha Zha had already packed her bags and was preparing to return to the Western Regions for the New Year. Qin Tian "disappeared" from Zha Zha's world for a while.

Before he knew it, at 2 PM on February 9th, Qin Tian arrived on time at Studio 1 of the CCTV Headquarters. As soon as he stepped into the dressing room, he was surrounded by makeup artists who began a meticulous makeover. The TV station's treatment was quite good; although the dressing room was shared, Qin Tian felt it was a blessing to have it at all, considering that not everyone could perform on the Spring Festival Gala stage. There was also a shared lounge, which was a small perk.

In the corridor, a group of children sat on the floor, watching the adults coming and going with longing eyes. There was nothing they could do; the Spring Festival Gala was just that prestigious. Qin Tian had no interest in sitting with them. He went straight to Na Ying's dressing room to pay his respects to this senior.

Led by Sister Na, Qin Tian visited other senior figures in each room, including Brother Kun, singer Song, the chubby little black guy from the crosstalk world, Li Chen, Du Chun from the "Backstabbing Cult," Wang Lihong, Mao Min, and so on (Qin Tian secretly thought: I'm still a junior performer, so it's okay to be humble). The most regrettable thing was that Uncle Zhao announced he wouldn't be on the Spring Festival Gala this year, so Qin Tian didn't see him and felt a little disappointed.

Qin Tian also made a special trip to see Shen Teng and Mary. They knew that Qin Tian had bought the film and television rights to Happy Twist, and there was a possibility of future collaborations. Although Shen Teng was somewhat famous from the Spring Festival Gala, he wasn't as popular as he was after the "To Help or Not to Help" skit, so Qin Tian and they were all quite polite to each other.

Qin Tian, ​​like a devoted fanboy, specifically sought out the Phoenix Legend duo for their autographs. He even brought his fandom to the Spring Festival Gala! Why is Qin Tian so fond of Phoenix Legend? This duo has been popular their entire lives; there's no other duo like them: in the first half of their lives, the female singer sang while the male singer was relatively unknown; in the second half, the male singer sang while the female singer took a break. While others experience a dramatic shift from fame to obscurity, they've had one person consistently performing for half their lives. Even more bizarrely, 90s kids danced with their grandparents in the square, and 24 years later, the 90s generation, now grown up, still idolized them—perhaps only the middle-aged 80s generation is somewhat dismissive. Their concert tickets are always incredibly hard to get!

Phoenix Legend was a little surprised and flattered when Qin Tian asked for an autograph. Although they debuted early, in 2012, all the singers combined couldn't match Qin Tian's popularity! As of December 31, 2012, Qin Tian's album sales had reached 19.5 million, ranking seventh nationwide, surpassing Phoenix Legend's tenth place.

Those ranked ahead of Qin Tian are all top stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan! Plus, Qin Tian's album has only been released for less than two months, so if we consider the whole year, he might rise a few more places! So Phoenix Legend was quite surprised by Qin Tian's arrival, but they seemed to be having a good time chatting.

At 8:00 AM sharp, the Spring Festival Gala officially began. Qin Tian's program was scheduled for 9:39 PM, replacing Kelly Chen's "Reporting Good News." Many people believe that the closer to midnight, the better the closing act, but this is a big misconception! The ideal viewership period is between 9:30 PM and 10:30 PM! Too early, and the audience needs to be warmed up; too late, and children are asleep. Why is there this misconception that closer to midnight is better? It's because midnight viewership is unstable! For years, programs featuring the most influential people have been scheduled for this time—previously it was Uncle Zhao, this year it's the chubby little guy—so people feel that midnight is the best time.

Na Ying finished her performance at 8:30 and left; everyone was waiting to go home for their New Year's Eve dinner! They just exchanged brief greetings. Finally, it was Qin Tian's turn. Qin Tian was incredibly nervous! After all, this was his first time singing in front of 14 billion people! He'd never even performed a concert before; his palms were sweaty, though it wasn't visible on his face, he was actually terribly flustered inside.

A staff member knocked on the door and politely said, "Mr. Qin, your program is about to start, please wait in the wings." Qin Tian replied even more politely, "No! Just call me Xiao Tian, ​​teacher!" CCTV is a place where hidden talents abound! Qin Tian didn't want to be tricked by someone pretending to be weak!

The host's witty remarks flowed seamlessly between the program's segments, making him seem like a guide traversing time and space.

"As the great Confucian scholar Liang Qichao once said, 'If the youth are wise, the nation is wise; if the youth are wealthy, the nation is wealthy.' For our great motherland, our children carry immense hope and the future! Now, let's warmly welcome Qin Tian's passionate performance—'A Young China'!"

At this moment, the athletes of the Central Plains Martial Arts Team are showcasing the charm of Chinese martial arts with great vigor, while in the background, a group of adorable children are reciting in unison in their sweet, childlike voices:

"When the youth are wise, the nation is wise; when the youth are wealthy, the nation is wealthy; when the youth are strong, the nation is strong; when the youth are free, the nation is free!"

The innocent yet resolute voices echoed across the stage. After two repetitions, the stirring music roared in, and accompanied by the children's clear voices, the stage was instantly ignited.

"As the red sun rises, its light shines brightly."

The river flows out and flows into the ocean.

A dragon rises from the abyss, its scales and claws flashing.

The young tiger roared in the valley, and all the beasts trembled in fear.

Teenagers have their own teenage madness,

The body is like mountains and rivers with a straight spine,

We dare to measure the sun and moon again!

Today, I am but a young man.

Dare to challenge the heavens and earth, and test its edge.

Who can stop us from forging ahead through thorns and brambles?

People laugh at me, but I will strive to be stronger.

I vow to live up to my youthful days!

Online, fans left comments such as, "Finally, we heard the full version! It's been more than half a year, and I thought Qin Tian had forgotten about it!"

"Qin Tian's singing is amazing! He should sing more positive songs and less lovey-dovey ones!"

"Where did this old dog come from spouting nonsense? Qin Tian is full of positive energy!"

Meanwhile, in front of the television, a father and daughter were discussing this rising idol:

"Daughter, is this the celebrity you admire? Not bad! This kind of positive song perfectly combines poetry and music, it's truly refreshing!"

"Dad, do you think my judgment is bad? He always said that idol worship doesn't require spending money. You can turn your motivation into motivation to study, make yourself better, and get one step closer to your favorite stars!"

"Excellent, excellent! My daughter has great taste!" The father nodded approvingly.

At this moment, another audience member, Li Guang, exclaimed, "This song is really good!"

His wife joked, "Yeah, you've gotten even more handsome in just one year. I feel like I've raised you!"

"Handsome! All you know is handsome!" Li Guang replied with a smile.

On Weibo and in front of television, as Qin Tian's performance ended, the topic instantly surged to the top of the trending searches, and his albums sold like hotcakes. People who didn't know or were unfamiliar with Qin Tian before now all know this rising star of the Spring Festival Gala.

At home, the phone rang incessantly as relatives and friends called to offer New Year's greetings. Qin's parents lay on the sofa, looking utterly exhausted, sighing, "We're so tired! We don't even want to cook New Year's Eve dinner!"

Meanwhile, Qin Tian had already returned to his rented apartment. Fortunately, there was no traffic on New Year's Eve, and he had booked a New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant in advance. Although eating alone was indeed a bit boring, he still let his family know he was safe and sound, and even took many pictures of the dishes to reassure them.

After finishing his meal, he took a packet of spicy beef noodles from the refrigerator, put it in a large bowl, poured in boiling water, and carefully covered it with the instant noodle bag. Next to him were a jar of fermented bean curd and two bottles of beer, one of which was empty and the other half-full—these were the drinks he had while video chatting with his family over dinner.

He took a picture of himself eating instant noodles, posted it on his WeChat Moments, visible only to Miss Nazha, and captioned it: "No one shares a drink with me, no one tells me the night is deep; no one asks if my porridge is warm, no one stands with me at dusk."

Sure enough, Naza saw the post on WeChat Moments a moment later and immediately sent a video. Qin Tian was secretly delighted: he had won his gamble! He had bet that Naza still had feelings for him. And he hadn't contacted Naza for a week—his strategy of playing hard to get had worked!

After the video call connected, Qin Tian smiled and said to Nazha, "Happy New Year! Did you see my song?"

Looking at Qin Tian's warm smile, Naza felt a pang of heartache. She felt sorry for this young man who was fighting alone for his dreams, always so positive and optimistic in front of her.

"Why didn't you have a decent New Year's Eve dinner?" Naza didn't answer Qin Tian's question but asked with concern.

"I was so busy I forgot! The restaurant was closed when I got back from the show. I haven't had time to buy groceries these past few days, but the beef noodles were pretty good!" Qin Tian replied optimistically.

“I’m going back to Beijing in my third year of junior high. I still need to reshoot a few scenes from the last filming. I’ll come visit you then!” Nazha said.

Qin Tian chuckled inwardly: What a lame excuse! She's just worried about me! Her saintly heart is overflowing! Hahahaha, plan successful! He replied with a smile, "Okay! I'll pick you up then!"

The two ended their conversation in a pleasant atmosphere, while Qin Tian silently planned his next move...