Chapter 20: Soft Persuasion Works, Hard Pressure Doesn’t
With your attitude, what more is there to say.
After reading the lyrics written by Yu Wei, the program team instantly felt relieved and stopped forcing him to do anything, letting him do whatever he wanted…
They didn’t really understand music, but these few lines of lyrics were clearly not simple at first glance, showing that Yu Wei’s creation was indeed real.
He chose the artist’s work and was doing artist’s things, which met the program requirements; forcing him to stop would be unreasonable.
The director was thinking even more; he had Yu Wei participate in socializing for program effect.
But if Yu Wei really produced a song on the program, the influence it brought would far surpass program effect.
A song premiered on a variety show, if good, would bring real popularity; there was no need to neglect the fundamentals for trivial gains.
Taking a step back opens up a vast sky; even if Yu Wei participated, the program effect might not improve, so it was better to let him mess around on his own.
If he succeeded, the program would share the glory; if not, it wouldn’t affect the variety show.
The program team considered it from the angle of benefit, but the other guests were clearly moved; several of them understood music.
These few lines from Yu Wei had a lot of artistic conception; though sparse, they saw the big in the small, and at least they would be fine work when written out.
So what if he stayed indoors? Producing some real works was better than jumping around on a variety show.
The work in their program was fake, but Yu Wei was truly being an artist.
Besides surprise, several people simultaneously realized something: Yu Wei being able to write “Heart Wall” was not by chance.
Many singers shine briefly because talent exhausted, but these few lines from Yu Wei showed that if he could write one, he could write a second.
Having written a hit song and being able to write a hit song were two entirely different concepts; it seemed they had shown too little closeness to what Yu Wei demonstrated…
“These few lines are really well written; I’m a bit expectant now.”
How could they not be good? These were the lyrics of “A Thousand Miles Away,” though the middle RAP part wasn’t as famous as “sending you away a thousand miles.”
Yu Wei knew there might be such a scene, and fortunately he had casually written the lyrics before going downstairs, avoiding too much awkwardness.
“No problem, I’ll still go walk the dog; coming back early is fine.”
These words fully saved face for the program team; actually, with this move, he could really close the door and focus on creation without issue.
Yu Wei did have that intention; one still couldn’t lack emotional intelligence too much; no matter what, since he was on their variety show, he should cooperate when needed.
No matter what, he couldn’t give others something to criticize; there weren’t few who got scolded for being careless on variety shows; public appeal still needed to be considered.
“To relax and find some inspiration.”
Yu Wei added another sentence to stop them from overthinking; what he said was also true—writer’s block was perfect for going out to sort ideas.
Compared to the other two female guests, Zhou Mumu was much more obedient, without so much scheming; accompanying her wouldn’t be so tiring.
“You can relax at home too, like watering the flowers or something?”
Tong Yulu still didn’t want to give up; Yu Wei had been there half a day, and she hadn’t had any positive interaction with him—how could she improve their relationship like this?
She didn’t have any improper thoughts, just wanted to make a friend.
“It’s quieter outside, easier to relax.” Before Yu Wei could speak, Chi Leying, who was washing dishes in the corner, spoke first to back him up.
Similarly trying to get closer, she was more quick-witted than Tong Yulu; better to fan the flames than force it.
If she said it directly, it would seem like echoing, but following Tong Yulu’s words, it seemed more understanding…
Tong Yulu instantly realized she had been pitted by Chi Leying; this was using her as a negative example to express intent.
She stayed calm, treating it as keeping an eye out; having torn her way out of a girl group, had she suffered few losses?
Sensing the gunpowder, Yu Wei didn’t dare linger; once it cooled a bit, he went out with Zhou Mumu, the photographer following from the side, seemingly wanting to capture some of Yu Wei’s rare camera shots…
Compared to those two who made a fuss, this Zhou Mumu had another approach; she spoke little and basically didn’t initiate exchanges with people.
Though walking the dog together, they actually walked one behind the other separately, at most exchanging pleasantries like “where to” or “over there.”
This worried the accompanying photographer; these two had zero interaction—how was he supposed to film?
Yu Wei silently followed behind, only staring at the left-right wagging big tail to continue thinking about the plot; at least the purpose of relaxing was achieved.
The song could be anything, but the problem was how to arrange it; he couldn’t have the protagonist inexplicably sing a song at the talent show site.
Wei Yu was the mentor this time, and the singing part needed to be as reasonable as possible… best with some dramatic conflict to stir the reader’s emotion, maximizing the refreshment.
Yu Wei’s mind was a bit chaotic and he couldn’t figure it out for the moment, so he simply sought some fun to switch his thinking.
“Coconut Milk, this name is really well chosen.”
“Calling her Coco would be a loss, calling her Grandmother even more so.”
The little white dog being called Coconut Milk was normal; she looked cute and matched the vibe, just hard to use a reduplicated name…
Zhou Mumu, holding the leash, rarely smiled with curved eyes; this joke was pretty cold.
“Why did you come on the program?” She sat on the nearby park bench, looking at Yu Wei seriously. “I feel like you want to write songs; you could write anywhere.”
All the guests were actually thinking this, but Zhou Mumu was the first to ask.
She didn’t have so many reservations; she could just feel that Yu Wei actually lacked interest in this program and asked casually.
“To gain some experience; I hadn’t been before, but now that I’m here, it feels just so-so…”
Yu Wei showed no intention of avoiding the photographer and casually asked back: “What about you? You’re acting well; why come on the program?”
Zhou Mumu had acted from childhood to adulthood, with good acting skills and fame, plus her own campus drama representative work; she was the only one here who could top him.
Unfortunately, her personality was too indifferent, with no sense of presence on the program, showing she also disliked this variety show.
To be honest, too many variety shows for actors had negative impact; not only did audiences get taken out of it, but acting skills easily regressed.
Many good actors gradually blended into the crowd after doing variety shows.
If you liked it, fine; if not, recording the program was asking for trouble; Yu Wei was really curious.
“I…”
Zhou Mumu paused, glancing at the photographer carrying the machine nearby.
“Turn it off first.”
Yu Wei patted the machine; it was rare to meet someone willing to chat sincerely on the program, and he didn’t want this junk to ruin it.
“Should do.”
The photographer was sensible; not only did he turn off the machine, he even ran to the shade under a distant tree to cool off, clearly giving them a chance to be alone.
“It’s just… my management company made me come.”
An expected answer.
Even without Zhou Mumu speaking, Yu Wei could vaguely guess it was the company’s idea, especially after she glanced at the camera, indicating it was something inconvenient to say.
What could make her so cautious was probably only her own company.
“They forced you?”
“No, no.”
Zhou Mumu hurriedly waved her hands; in her panic, the dog leash slipped from her hand, and Coconut Milk shot out like a freed prisoner, her little short legs pumping fast.
Yu Wei hadn’t reacted yet when the cameraman nearby chased after it first, yelling back for them not to worry and to keep chatting.
Really deserved a chicken leg for the big brother; he was putting in so much effort.
“No forcing; I came willingly, it’s just… they said the company helped me so much, this time I should help the company too.”
“Moral kidnapping, right?”
Actually, many young people were like this: they ate soft words not hard ones; forcing them backfired, but talking emotion and soft words worked, using responsibility and guilt to achieve the purpose.
Zhou Mumu’s company’s talking points were clearly moral kidnapping: “We raised you this big; can’t you do something for us?”
Sigh.
Yu Wei watched the distant chase between man and dog, his mood complex.
He seemed to have figured out how to write the next plot…
