HuaYu: The most muscular director in history!

In January 2003, Beijing was swept by a cold wind carrying snowflakes. The alleyways of Wangfujing were covered in a blanket of white, and the holly bushes along the roadside were bent low under the weight of the snow.

Three young people suddenly ran into the alley corner, tucking their heads into their scarves. Their breath, just peeking out, was blown away on the winter street.

"I told you they'd sell out if you went late, but you two didn't believe me!"

Xiao Ming pouted, his tone incredibly irritating: "Ugh, you two still don't believe me! Are we the ones who don't believe me? He only sold 100,000 copies, who does he think he is? That's nothing, who's going to listen to him!"

Xiaohua rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "You can, you can buy him everything!"

Xiao Li nudged the two of them, urging, "Hurry up, or the Orange Records store will be sold out too, and you two will be crying!"

"Who is this Xiang Nan you're talking about?" The conversation among the three junior high school students finally piqued the interest of passersby.

Xiaohua looked at the person who spoke. He was dressed as a high school student and looked average, but his eyes were bright and alert, so he didn't seem like a bad person.

"Is that singer Xiang Nan?"

"A singer?" Han Jianu frowned.

I've been hearing the name Xiang Nan a lot lately; many fans in my class are also discussing him.

"Oh dear!" Xiaohua stomped her foot, looking anxiously at the music store in the distance.

"Sister, it's Xiang Nan! The freshman from Beijing Film Academy? The walking sex symbol? You must know him, right?"

"Oh! It's him!" Han Jianu exclaimed upon hearing this.

One song polluted her ears for weeks!

"Let's go, Little Flower!"

Xiao Li and Xiao Ming started walking, and Xiao Hua followed them.

"Hey, so what happened to Xiang Nan?"

Han Jianu's questioning was ignored. She clicked her tongue and muttered "boring" under her breath.

He had just turned around when he stopped in his tracks.

"It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look."

Orange Audio-Visual Store, located deep in a hutong, has virtually no foot traffic and hardly anyone visits on weekdays.

Today was a little different. The boss, Xiao Xiang, started chuckling in the morning and kept laughing until nine o'clock, while customers were still pouring in.

When Han Jianu arrived at the door, she was immediately drawn to the television on the shelf.

This time it wasn't "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (a popular Chinese song), but rather a rooftop in a neon-lit city, with Xiang Nan alone, a microphone, and a spotlight.

The night is too beautiful! No matter how dangerous it may be.

There are always people staying up late with dark circles under their eyes.

Love is so beautiful, no matter how dangerous.

[I'd gladly pay the price with a thousand years' worth of overspending and tears!]

……

"It sounds awful, and the special effects are so fake."

Han Jianu pouted; she had no interest in these "explosive" fast songs and was about to leave.

"Hey! What's the name of this song? 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky'? Boss, could you play it for me?"

"Hehe, of course, no problem."

Han Jianu stopped again.

It wouldn't hurt to listen to one more song.

The boss was a shrewd man; the first thing he did after getting up wasn't to change the songs, but to replace the "last 30 copies" on the shelf with the "last 20 copies".

"..."

The scene on the TV quickly changed. This time there were no fake special effects, but the setup was still simple: a person with a guitar on a lawn under the night sky.

The crisp sound of a guitar begins; the characteristic of folk music is its simplicity, and the lyrics come naturally.

Can you hear me, brightest star in the night sky?

The loneliness and sighs in the heart of the one who looks up.

Oh~~ Do you remember the brightest star in the night sky?

The figure that once walked with me, now vanished in the wind.

Han Jianu's eyes lit up. What a clear, no, what a bright and cheerful singing voice!

It was as if my ears had been cleansed, and my mind suddenly calmed down. I wanted to ignore all the noise around me and listen carefully, word by word!

The music store fell silent; seven or eight customers fell silent at the same time, not needing to look, but simply listening.

I pray to have a transparent heart.

【Eyes that can shed tears】

Give me the courage to believe again.

Oh~ I'll embrace you beyond the lies.

Whenever I can't find meaning in my existence

Whenever I get lost in the darkness

Oh~Oh, the brightest star in the night sky

Please guide me closer to you—

"hiss……"

"call!"

The beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, it did not disappoint her. After listening to the whole song, it felt like her soul had been cleansed.

She looked up at the tall man on TV, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Beijing Film Academy? That's the school my dad made me apply to?

The college entrance exam is next year, so maybe...

"Boss! Two, oops, three!"

"Hehehe..." The boss grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Okay, okay, we have them all!"

He doesn't care about those cliché rules of one per person; he just wants to sell out quickly and then go to the factory to stock up on some more!

Oh right... I remember Wang Erhei next door was a piracy addict, right? Hehehe.

The 20 tapes on the shelf quickly dwindled to 5, then 1, and the rest were audio tapes.

"Oh no! Mom, I knew we were late! They were all sold out by nine o'clock. Will there be any left at ten?"

"Didn't that grandma just say it? It's the Orange Records Store in the alley, what's the rush!"

As the conversation began, two figures wearing identical black down jackets walked over.

Han Jianu looked over curiously, then her eyes widened in surprise!

What a beautiful mother and daughter!

Wait a minute! Isn't this the female lead from "Gong Xi Fa Cai"? The girl who sent New Year's greetings in the video and made all the aunties smile!

When the mother and daughter arrived at the door, their conversation became clearer.

"You're just too proud to admit it and suffer for it. You came all the way back to Beijing for your final exams, you're bound to run into him. Why don't you just ask him for it? Why do you have to come out and buy it yourself?"

Yifei pouted, feeling a little unhappy after being scolded by her mother.

"What does this have to do with me? I got back early this morning, and he was supposed to bring breakfast. It's clearly his fault!"

Liu's mother rolled her eyes at her, ignored her, and instead looked at the shop owner: "Do you still have the deluxe edition?"

"Huh? A deluxe edition? I only have cassette tapes and CDs here, and I only have one CD left."

Liu's mother turned to look at the four CDs that Han Jianu was holding, nodded, and started taking out money: "Get me fifty cassette tapes and one CD."

"Okay, hehehe!"

This is a big client!

"Boss, boss! Huff... huff..."

The Orange Music Store was unusually lively today, as another middle-aged man with long hair rushed in.

"Boss, do you still have any CDs?"

The middle-aged man, leaning against the counter, was panting heavily when Xiaohua and her group, who had just come out, looked over.

They were puzzled: Did this uncle also follow celebrities?

"There was only one left, and this lady took it...hehehe."

The middle-aged man looked at Liu's mother, put his hands together, and solemnly apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. Could you part with it? I'll offer three times the price."

The boss's eyes widened. "Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!"

Liu's mother frowned. Without even replying to him, she turned and handed over the banknotes: "Wrap this up for me."

The middle-aged man smiled bitterly; asking for help like this was indeed too hasty!

"I'll give you one, the regular price one is fine."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and he turned to Han Jianu, thanking her repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you. My name is Tian Xiaopeng. Thank you again."

"You're welcome." Han Jianu handed over the CD, then turned and left.

Yifei, who was behind the two, blinked and inexplicably felt that the two were quite nice.

"Let's go." Just then, Liu's mother finished buying her things, and the two big bags looked heavy.

Yifei obediently took a bag, and the mother and daughter walked hand in hand out of the alley: "Mom, do you think the sisters in Hongxingwu will be overjoyed to see so many cassette tapes?"

"You're the one who's incredibly lucky!"

……

On the other side, in Jimenli Community 302.

"Brother Nan, Brother Nan, please, this really won't do!"

In the living room, Feng Man reached out and tried to hold Xiang Nan's large hand, but she couldn't.

Xiang Nan picked up the artistic photo and looked at it again and again, frowning in confusion: "This is an artistic photo, why isn't it acceptable?"

Feng Man glanced at the large cardboard box at her feet, speechless. "Sending Yifei a gift—a deluxe CD, a signed CD, even artistic photos—is really appropriate to send her a photobook with her upper body exposed?"

"She's just a teenager!"

Xiang Nan shrugged and still uploaded the abs photo: "An artistic photo, it's art! Art isn't risqué!"

Feng Man: ...