Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 85 A Beauty Adds Fragrance

In a small meeting room in the CCTV building, Zheng Hui met Bai Yansong.

"Hello, Zheng Hui." Bai Yansong extended his hand. "Your performance on the Spring Festival Gala was wonderful; my family especially enjoyed it."

"Hello, Professor Bai, you flatter me." Zheng Hui shook hands with him.

The two sat down, and since there were no cameras pointed at them, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Bai Yansong picked up a notebook from the table: "Before we start recording, let's briefly go over the process. Our program is called 'Sons of the East,' and it mainly aims to explore the inner world of the characters, so the questions might be quite direct."

Zheng Hui nodded: "I understand."

Bai Yansong opened his notebook: "I've read your profile and listened to all your songs."

I'm curious because your music has a maturity and power that transcends your age, which is usually related to your upbringing.

So, I might ask some questions about your family and upbringing. Is there anything you'd rather not discuss?

Zheng Hui paused for a moment, knowing that this was standard procedure for interview programs.

He organized his thoughts: "Teacher Bai, everything else is fine, but I don't really want to talk about my family situation."

Bai Yansong has a keen eye; he caught a hint of unease in Zheng Hui's expression.

He didn't press further, but instead used a gentler approach: "What's the reason? Would you mind telling me? We're not a prying column; we just want to better understand the emotional source in your music."

Zheng Hui shook his head: "It's not that my parents are celebrities or rich, nor is there anything wrong with them."

He looked into Bai Yansong's eyes and calmly said, "My parents are from Fujian. They got married in 1980 and went to Macau to work. They were an ordinary family trying to make a living."

He didn't reveal the fact that his parents had died; he didn't want to reopen his wounds and become a tool for gaining sympathy.

Bai Yansong looked at Zheng Hui and could sense from his eyes that this young man had something on his mind, and it was no small matter.

Behind that calm beyond her years may lie a past she doesn't want to be touched upon.

As a seasoned journalist, he knows when to get to the bottom of things and when to keep his distance.

The purpose of "Oriental Son" is to showcase the style of the elites of the times, not to be an entertainment program that digs into gossip and privacy.

"I understand." Bai Yansong closed his notebook and stopped dwelling on the issue. "Then let's focus on your music composition and personal insights."

This respect put Zheng Hui at ease.

Half an hour later, the recording of the show officially began.

"Welcome to 'Sons of the East'. Today's guest is a special young man. On New Year's Eve, he moved hundreds of millions of viewers with his unique rendition of 'Me and My Motherland' on the Spring Festival Gala. He is Zheng Hui, a singer from Macau."

After a brief opening, Bai Yansong got to the point.

"Zheng Hui, your rendition of 'My Motherland and I' on the Spring Festival Gala was a refreshing experience for all of us. Many people are curious about what prompted you to use such a gentle and personal approach to perform such a grand song?"

Zheng Hui replied, "It was actually quite a coincidence. I happened to be in Beijing at that time to participate in the recording of 'Variety Show'."

The day after the recording ended, I got up very early and went to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

"When the national anthem played and we watched the red flag slowly rise in the morning light, everyone around us, whether local residents or tourists, spontaneously joined in the singing. At that moment, a particularly stirring emotion welled up inside me."

"I suddenly realized that patriotism doesn't always have to be a loud shout or a grand vow. It can also be a very personal and delicate emotion, like a child's attachment to its mother."

"After returning to the hotel, that emotion kept echoing in my mind. Then, I remembered the song 'Me and My Motherland' that I had heard when I was a child. So, I tried to rearrange the song using the feeling I had back then."

Bai Yansong nodded: "During the process of creating and performing this song, was there anything that left a deep impression on you?"

Zheng Hui smiled and said, "Yes, it was Qin Yongcheng, the composer of this song, who said this when he authorized me to sing it."

"I remember it very clearly. That afternoon, in Teacher Qin's office, I sang this version that I had adapted in front of him."

After I finished singing, I felt very uneasy, afraid that he would think I was making a fool of a classic work.

"But after listening to it, he didn't criticize me; instead, he was very moved. He signed a copy of the song's manuscript and gave it to me, then said something to me."

Looking at the camera, Zheng Hui repeated, "He said, 'Take it and sing it, let more young people hear this song, let them know that patriotism can also be a gentle thing.'"

The studio was quiet, with only Zheng Hui's voice echoing.

"Patriotism can also be a very gentle thing." Bai Yansong repeated this sentence softly, his eyes revealing approval and contemplation.

The recording of the program went smoothly. Bai Yansong's questions were always to the point, and Zheng Hui's answers were sincere and frank.

After the recording was completed, Zheng Hui gave two interviews to newspapers, most of which focused on the Spring Festival Gala and his new album "Floating Life".

It was several days later when all this was finally finished.

After handling the follow-up media liaison work, Li Zongming returned to Guangzhou. Zheng Hui also gave Lin Dashan a holiday, allowing him and Chen Jianguo, who was in Guangzhou, to go home for the Chinese New Year.

Since Zheng Hui will be entering a period of seclusion to study, he will no longer have any trips involving crowds, and there will normally be no danger in the capital.

March is the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy. With the support of the system, Zheng Hui has absolute confidence in his professional courses. In fact, he could even say that he would be more than qualified to teach the examiners.

But the procedures still had to be followed, and he still had a concern about academic subjects.

He is a Macao resident and took the Joint Entrance Examination for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Students.

Although this exam is simpler than the national college entrance examination in mainland China, he had been away from school for too long in his previous life. He had long forgotten those mathematical formulas, historical dates, and geographical terms.

Although his rebirth enhanced his body and memory, allowing him to remember everything he saw, it still took him time to understand and apply it.

That afternoon, Gao Yuanyuan came again.

She was carrying a thermos. As soon as Zheng Hui opened the door, she came in and said proudly, "I begged my mom to make me some chicken soup. I lied and said I was too tired from reading and wanted to drink it myself. I secretly filled most of it up and brought it over for you."

Zheng Hui looked at her, both amused and exasperated: "If Auntie knew you were using her cooking skills to curry favor, she'd probably be angry with me."

"If you don't tell and I don't tell, how will she know? You're preparing for exams every day, how can you not get some extra help?" Gao Yuanyuan said as she poured soup into a bowl and pushed it in front of Zheng Hui.

She glanced at the things on Zheng Hui's table and paused for a moment.

Instead of the professional books on film history, directing techniques, or literature that she had imagined, there was a stack of high school textbooks on the table.

It covers all subjects, including Chinese, mathematics, English, history, and geography.

The paper Zheng Hui had spread out beside him was a test paper that looked rather poorly printed, and he was making circles and marks on it with a red pen.

"Why are you looking at these?" Gao Yuanyuan asked curiously.

"Preparing for the academic exams," Zheng Hui replied.

Gao Yuanyuan picked up the test paper and looked at it, then frowned: "This test paper is too easy! Aren't these all basic questions from the textbook?"

Zheng Hui explained, "I didn't know how deep the cultural subjects in the joint entrance exam would be, so I studied the textbooks more and built a solid foundation."

The Joint Entrance Examination for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan students focuses more on testing basic knowledge and is relatively less difficult.

Gao Yuanyuan looked at Zheng Hui with sympathy in her eyes.

In her opinion, Zheng Hui definitely wouldn't be able to buy any good review materials. And rightly so, as a Macanese, he was unfamiliar with Beijing and wouldn't know where to find high-quality exam preparation papers.

Moreover, the paper on which he wrote was yellowed and the questions were outdated, clearly a cheap find from some obscure bookstall.

A sense of mission to save underachieving students suddenly arose in her heart.

She felt that she could help.

"Well, I'm going back now. You study hard." Gao Yuanyuan turned to leave and waved to Zheng Hui.

"You're leaving already? Won't you sit for a while?"

"No, no, I suddenly remembered I have something to do."

After Gao Yuanyuan finished speaking, she turned around and ran out of the room, like a little squirrel carrying a secret.

Zheng Hui watched her retreating figure, somewhat bewildered. He shook his head and continued immersing himself in his homework.

Gao Yuanyuan returned home and went straight to her room.

Her family is a typical highly educated family; both her parents are engineers in the aerospace system, and her brother is even more outstanding, having been admitted to Tsinghua University.

In such a family environment, although the China University of Labor Relations that Gao Yuanyuan was admitted to was not a prestigious university, she was exposed to it from a young age and knew exactly how to take exams.

She stood on a stool and dragged a dusty cardboard box down from the top of the bookshelf.

When the box was opened, it was full of all sorts of review materials and practice papers that she had used last year when she was preparing for the college entrance examination.

She rummaged through the items, muttering to herself, "This is too easy—this is basic training—ah, found it!"

She pulled out several beautifully printed test papers from a pile of papers, with a few eye-catching words printed on the cover.

Huanggang Secret Exam Papers.

At that time, the "Huanggang Secret Exam Papers" had not yet been published and were not the nationally known symbol they would become in later generations.

But in these top middle schools in Beijing's HD district, it has become an unspoken secret weapon among top students.

These exam papers are not publicly released versions, but rather internal materials that circulated from Hubei through special channels. They were specifically developed to prepare students for admission to top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University, and the questions are extremely difficult and the angles are very tricky.

Gao Yuanyuan's parents used their connections to get her these few sets.

She carefully set the papers aside, but then felt it wasn't enough.

Having challenging problems alone is not enough; we also need high-quality basic practice tests and mock tests.

She pestered her brother, who was watching TV.

"Brother, you've graduated. Do you still have those college entrance exam papers?"

He looked at his sister strangely: "What do you need all that for? You've already finished college entrance exams, do you want to relive the nightmare of senior year of high school?"

"It's not for me!" Gao Yuanyuan leaned closer and said mysteriously, "I have a friend who needs to take the college entrance exam, but his study materials aren't good enough, and I want to help him."

"Friends? Male or female?" the older brother asked gossipily.

"Hey, stop worrying about it!" Gao Yuanyuan nudged him. "Just tell me, are you going to help or not?"

"Fine, fine, I give up." Her brother couldn't resist her, so he picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers.

Students at Tsinghua University have connections and resources, so it's not difficult for them to produce several sets of high-quality mock exams.

Half an hour later, he hung up the phone: "Okay, I asked my friends at Renmin University High School and Tsinghua University High School for you. They have the latest internal mock exams, as well as some prediction papers made by famous teachers. They can bring them over tomorrow."

Gao Yuanyuan jumped up with joy, hugged her brother's arm and shook it: "Brother, you're so great!"

The next day, Gao Yuanyuan excitedly carried a large stack of test papers and returned to Zheng Hui's hotel.

"Clang, clang, clang!" She put the thick stack of papers on the table.

"Look what I brought you!"

Zheng Hui looked at the mountain of test papers and was both amused and exasperated.

He picked it up and flipped through it; it contained things like "Huanggang Secret Exam Papers," "Haidian Famous Teachers' Insights," and "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation"—

All sorts of nightmares from his student days in his previous life unexpectedly reappeared in this time and space.

"These are all the products I used last year!"

Gao Yuanyuan proudly patted the pile of test papers: "And these too, these are internal test papers that my brother got from Tsinghua University High School and Renmin University High School through connections. You can't buy them anywhere else!"

She pulled out a math test paper and handed it to Zheng Hui: "Try this one, these are really challenging questions. The ones you did before were too childish, they're useless for the college entrance exam."

Gao Yuanyuan pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, resting her chin on her hands: "Try it. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me."

She smiled a little shyly: "Although my grades can't compare to my brother's, I can still answer some basic questions."

If all else fails, I can call my brother; he's from Tsinghua University, he'll definitely be able to explain it to you clearly.

She genuinely wanted to help Zheng Hui.

In her view, Zheng Hui is from Macau and hasn't received the hellish, exam-oriented education system of mainland China. Doing these questions would definitely be very difficult for him, and might even drive him crazy.

Then, she can gently explain the formula to him and tell him the solution.

The image of a beautiful woman reading by lamplight at night is simply wonderful.

Zheng Hui looked at Gao Yuanyuan's eager expression and couldn't help but laugh and cry.

He doesn't actually need such advanced training. The difficulty of the Joint Entrance Examination for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Students is roughly equivalent to the level of first and second year high school students in mainland China. Using a test paper designed for Tsinghua and Peking Universities is like using a dragon-slaying sword to kill a chicken.

However, seeing Gao Yuanyuan's flushed face and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, he couldn't bear to expose her.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Zheng Hui picked up his pen and opened the math test paper.

The first question is about sets.

It's very simple; the answer is obvious at a glance. Zheng Hui quickly wrote down A.

The second question is about complex numbers.

It's not difficult; you can do a quick calculation.

Zheng Hui started working on the questions.

At first, he wasn't very fast. After all, many formulas had been dormant in his mind for too long and needed some time to be awakened.

Gao Yuanyuan watched from the side, nodding inwardly.

Sure enough, you're stuck, aren't you? You've been thinking about it, haven't you?

That's right. This is the normal pace for solving problems.

She moved her chair forward, ready to offer guidance at any moment.

"This question tests the trigonometric induction formulas—" She opened her mouth, but hadn't finished speaking.

Zheng Hui's pen suddenly moved.

Brush brush.

Lines of equations flowed out, with clear logic and concise steps.

Finally, put a period at the end and write down the answer.

Gao Yuanyuan shut her mouth.

Zheng Hui continued working on it.

As he solved each problem, he felt as if a rusty machine in his brain was being lubricated.

Those previously vague knowledge points began to become clear and active rapidly with the help of the system and the enhanced physical functions brought about by rebirth.

His thinking speed is getting faster and faster.

Steps that used to require half a day of calculation on scratch paper can now be deduced directly in the mind.

The eyes see the question—the brain instantly extracts relevant formulas—logical construction—derives the result, and then writes the answer by hand.

The process was frighteningly smooth.

Fill in the blanks, skip.

Multiple choice question, move on.

Now we've reached the big questions.

Solid geometry.

You need to build a spatial model in your mind and draw auxiliary lines.

Zheng Hui only glanced at the graphic, and the three-dimensional structure automatically began to rotate in his mind, making it clear where the auxiliary lines should be added.

"We need to draw a perpendicular line here—" Gao Yuanyuan was about to remind her.

Zheng Hui had already drawn a dotted line on the diagram, its position incredibly precise, which was the key to solving the problem.

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes widened. This reaction speed was even faster than her brother's back then!

Zheng Hui was completely immersed in the thrill of solving the problem. This intellectual dominance made him feel incredibly satisfied.

The scratching sound of the pen tip on the paper became the only melody in the room.

half an hour.

A math practice test that usually takes two hours to complete was filled up.

Even the last two challenging problems, which were supposedly variations of the Olympiad math problems, were filled with Zheng Hui's written steps.

Zheng Hui put down his pen, shook his slightly sore wrist, and let out a long sigh.

"Cool."

He turned his head and saw Gao Yuanyuan staring at him with her mouth agape, as if she were looking at a monster.

"What's wrong? Is there ink on my face?" Zheng Hui touched his face.

Gao Yuanyuan snapped out of her daze, grabbed the test paper, and picked up the answer key next to it to check her work.

All multiple choice questions were answered correctly.

All fill-in-the-blank questions were answered correctly.

Major topic —

The steps and answers are exactly the same, and some solutions are even simpler than the standard answers.

Only the second sub-question of the last question had a slightly different final result due to a calculation error.

On a test worth 150 points, he could get at least 145 points.

This is a mock exam from the HD section! It's designed for top students!

Gao Yuanyuan put down the test paper and swallowed.

Her original script was "A caring older sister mentoring a down-on-his-luck talented man," but now it's turned into "A top student giving a live lesson."

"Zheng Hui—" Gao Yuanyuan looked at him: "You really didn't learn any of this in Macau?"

"I've never studied anything this advanced before," Zheng Hui said honestly. "But while I was working on it just now, I suddenly felt like I understood it all. I could figure out how to solve a lot of things at a glance."

Is this the benefit of rebirth? Or is it a subtle transformation by the system? Zheng Hui didn't know, but he enjoyed this state.

Gao Yuanyuan was somewhat frustrated, but even more so, she admired him.

This man can write songs, sing songs, is handsome, and now even his problem-solving skills are this abnormal.

"What's wrong with your brain?"

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't resist reaching out to poke Zheng Hui's head.

She reached out her hand halfway, then realized the gesture was too intimate and hastily withdrew it.

Zheng Hui smiled and picked up the Chinese test paper: "Strike while the iron is hot, do the Chinese test too. You can also take a look at my essay; you're an expert in humanities, so this is something you should know."

Gao Yuanyuan blushed slightly and muttered softly, "How dare I call myself an expert in front of you—"

However, she quickly adjusted her mindset, sat up straight again, and helped Zheng Hui grind ink and lay out paper, or tidy up the next paper.

Since I can't be a teacher, I'll be a pageboy.

Just being able to stay by his side and watch him work on his problems is enough.

Outside the window, dusk falls on Beijing, and the streetlights come on.

The room was warmly lit.

Zheng Hui continued writing diligently, while Gao Yuanyuan quietly accompanied him, occasionally pouring him a glass of water or peeling an apple for him.

The stack of test papers that Gao Yuanyuan regarded as a powerful weapon was decreasing at an alarming rate.

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