Chapter 187: An Old Song
“What is that?”
“Just teasing you.”
Not funny at all.
As a web novel author, Yu Wei might not know much else, but he does understand memes. He knows 80% of the memes on the market and even understands their general evolution process.
After all, web novel authors ultimately make a living from the internet. Without understanding memes, they can’t survive.
Self-contained memes can still be used, but constantly evolving and combining memes obviously can’t be directly copied.
From East Sea Emperor to Oni, from cats to abstract artist origins, before he could fire a salute for the birth of Ha Ji Gao, next up is Round Ha Town…
This meme’s path to popularity was all chance and coincidence, with netizens spontaneously joining in to push its development. It’s impossible to replicate out of thin air.
What Tong Yulu needs is something that’s easy to go viral but has no understanding threshold, preferably the kind that’s magically addictive.
“If you can’t think of anything, just do a whole song. I won’t mind.”
“Now you’re the one minding?”
Yu Wei wasn’t planning to give her a song for now.
Tong Yulu is in the midst of disbandment right now. If he really gave her a representative work, it would be easy for the company to blackmail her, and any disputes would be troublesome. Better to wait until the third round.
This round still needs some shady tricks…
“Aren’t you green tea? Let me think of a tea-style trick for you.”
“Who’s green tea? Who are you calling green tea!”
Tong Yulu was furious upon hearing this. Wasn’t she just a bit scheming, a bit good at playing innocent, a bit purposeful, and a bit perceptive? How could that be called green tea?
“Let’s hear it.”
Fine, green tea it is. If it means advancing, so what? As long as she reaches the next round, it’s all just the path she came from.
Tong Yulu wasn’t stupid. She had two ways to win: either follow the company’s arrangements and be completely tied down, or listen to Yu Wei.
The former seemed reliable but had endless repercussions. The entertainment industry had no shortage of vases like her. Once her blooming period was over, she’d vanish into the crowd.
Yu Wei didn’t play by the rules, which sounded unreliable but was actually effective, and it wouldn’t harm their personal interests.
Abstract artist’s popularity was still better than becoming capital’s plaything. In this day and age, everything else was fake; having the right to speak in her own hands was real.
Yu Wei could read people. From his first meeting with Tong Yulu and Chi Leying, he felt they were very perceptive. In the entertainment industry, being selfish wasn’t bad; it was how such people preserved themselves.
His idea wasn’t far-fetched. He wanted Tong Yulu to do “heartache for brother.” The meme came from the video itself. As long as she captured the essence, it could still go viral today.
This meme wasn’t overused either. After all, they had a years-long romance that finally led to marriage, truly practicing heartache for brother with actions.
Tong Yulu was shocked after hearing it. The lines were outrageous enough, and now she had to say them in a pinched voice. Could this really go viral? It felt like it would become black history.
“That’s exactly the effect we want.”
This famous line went viral precisely because it was affected and contrived. If said seriously, the effect would be greatly diminished.
What black history? If it went viral, this would be the path she came from. With this level of brainwashing, becoming the abstract artist big sister wasn’t impossible.
The road was paved; it just depended on whether Tong Yulu was willing.
“If I do this, can it really go viral?”
Though she was prepared, Yu Wei’s trick was a bit too shady. She didn’t want her opponents to screenshot and mock her…
“If you think that way, at first they’ll screenshot and mock you, but once your video is everywhere, people who dislike you won’t even be able to hide.”
It seemed to make sense. Imagining her opponents’ fans constantly seeing her sticker pack and video, Tong Yulu instantly felt relieved.
This wasn’t ugly acting; it was just spreading memes. Fans who liked her wouldn’t leave, passersby would find it fun, and haters could do nothing about it. It had potential.
No wonder Yu Wei was a genius. Just thinking of herself squinting, winking, and speaking in a pinched voice made her feel abstract artist-like; others probably couldn’t forget it even if they tried.
“Let’s do it!”
Tong Yulu instantly had her wish satisfied. This abstract artist meme didn’t have strong conversion ability and had low value to the company, but the popularity and public appeal were real, perfectly suiting her current situation.
But a competition was still a competition. One meme definitely wasn’t enough. She planned to put this performance at the beginning, followed by a song about brother, which would fit the theme.
“Self-taught, huh? You even know how to match songs now.”
Yu Wei increasingly suspected his decision was right. Maybe Tong Yulu really had talent as an abstract artist. Don’t make your deer sister laugh.
He specifically mentioned a few key details from the original video as reference. Tong Yulu was secretly amazed as she listened. The sense of imagery was too strong; it was like he’d seen the video with his own eyes…
Was this the scene presentation ability of a top tier author?
“Too bad you don’t have a suitable song, or I’d just cover your work.”
After hearing the explanation, Tong Yulu felt enlightened and determined not to disgrace her benefactor teacher. She’d record a video first.
Yu Wei was glad he didn’t have a suitable song. With her ability to ruin songs, plus such an abstract artist opening, could the song even be listened to?
He hoped the readers would be okay by then.
While giving Tong Yulu advice, Yu Wei had already arrived at the company. The Answer wasn’t hard to record and went quickly, but distinguishing the male and female parts took some effort.
Fei Hong and Zhou Mumu weren’t professional singers after all, so it was better to mark these things clearly.
By afternoon, he’d recorded the demo and notated the simple score. He sent a copy each to Fei Hong and Zhou Mumu to hear their opinions.
Zhou Mumu quickly called back, and Fei Hong was right beside her. Since they were together, they just looked at it together…
If he’d known they were together, he wouldn’t have sent two copies. Were they showing affection over the phone in broad daylight?
If they kept spreading dog food, Yu Wei would have their fans report them. Mission Impossible.
“I like it a lot!”
Zhou Mumu read the lyrics word by word, her eyes growing brighter. The lyrics were spot on, vivid and realistic.
“From the day of my first love, first sweet, then storms follow right after.” Wasn’t that exactly their emotional journey?
At the start, they thought love could overcome anything, but then storms came one after another, catching them off guard.
It wasn’t just fans and the management company; their families also disapproved of them being together… Child stars who debuted naturally weren’t from ordinary families.
Passersby gossiped, but between the lines, they still weren’t optimistic. Of celebrity romances, not one in ten made it to the end.
A romance no one was optimistic about was destined to be tough, but Yu Wei’s song hit it just right, describing the storms they faced and giving the only Answer.
And this line: “People are like having a severe cold, sneezing, fever needing rest, hot and cold alternating, joy and hesitation, endlessly repeating.”
This feeling of pain mixed with addiction perfectly captured the anxiety of romance…
The more they looked at the song, the more real it felt. Had Yu Wei never been in love? How could he write the romance process so vividly?
Zhou Mumu couldn’t help but smile knowingly. Maybe she knew a bit of the answer.
No matter what, Yu Wei’s song felt tailor-made for them. Not only did it fit the required male-female chorus, but the lyrics were very fitting.
“Mysterious promises, vows, even lies, to comprehend them yourself.” How could one understand such things without experiencing them personally?
Most importantly, the song was subtle enough, without that duet sweetness, allowing fans to gradually accept it. Directly showing affection would probably get them scolded to death.
“Glad you like it.”
Their practice speed wasn’t fast, and they still needed to process Fei Hong’s voice for some “masking.” Formal competition entry would probably take about a week.
He’d need to arrange two other matches in the meantime to bridge the gap.
Tong Yulu’s stunt video should come out quickly. Besides that, he still needed to find a contestant to battle AI.
After the competition entered the second round, not only did the plot of his novel slow down, but the contestants weren’t as proactive as in the first round, and videos were coming slower.
Ultimately, they wanted to win too badly. Ever since the song reward, every contestant wanted to try their luck.
Opportunity came only once. They all wanted to give their all and sing their best, plus tuning and post-production, making videos slower than ever.
Readers blamed him for slow updates, but he couldn’t be blamed for slacking. It was mainly the novel material not being proactive.
Just as Yu Wei was thinking about what to write tomorrow, Chi Leying, who hadn’t contacted him in a while, sent a message. Clearly, she had something to say.
She couldn’t possibly have the same goal as Tong Yulu, right?
But for this one, Yu Wei couldn’t help. This quiet and elegant style wasn’t suited for abstract artist stuff. Chi Leying was too serious.
“I’ve recorded my song. Help me review it.”
Chi Leying did have something to ask him, but not to carry her; she already had her own plans and just wanted some advice.
Definitely an action-oriented person. She was much stronger than Tong Yulu in this regard.
“Send it over.”
Her strength was also much stronger than Tong Yulu’s. Even without evil path tricks, beating AI wasn’t impossible, provided she chose the right song.
Chi Leying didn’t hesitate and soon sent a fairly large video file, clearly carefully edited.
Yu Wei had even heard this song before: Little River Flows Water, a 1947 old song. This choice was somewhat unexpected.
The song selection was unique, but it wasn’t easy; singing it outstandingly was tough…
“The moon comes out shining brightly.”
Chi Leying’s pitch was impeccable, breath control proper, every turn of sound carefully designed, yet it always felt like something was missing.
Like a mountain spring poured into a beautiful glass bottle: crystal clear, but lacking the vitality of flowing.
Just as Yu Wei thought it could be refined further, a long chant rose beside it, warm and moist like soaked in mountain spring.
This was a guest singer?
He’d almost forgotten: Chi Leying had high emotional intelligence. With her connections, having a guest singer help wasn’t surprising.
No wonder she didn’t think of evil path tricks; she had confidence. The second round gave people like this socializing expert a certain boost.
Yu Wei also knew this guest singer: Teacher Zhong Qing. The landlord during the HELLO Roommate recording was her, a highly respected veteran in the entertainment industry.
Both were program guests, but Chi Leying could invite her out of retirement, while Tong Yulu definitely couldn’t. That was the gap in social skills.
Daily deer humiliation (3/1).
No wonder Chi Leying chose such an old song; it seemed she wanted to give the veteran artist space to shine.
When the song reached the climax, as both sang the call of “brother oh brother oh brother oh,” Teacher Zhong Qing improvised a segment of Yi ethnic ancient chant, while Chi Leying accompanied with modern chorus techniques.
This chorus was exquisite. After hearing it, Yu Wei felt it was a sure win. Just this cooperation alone made AI no match.
Teacher Zhong Qing’s voice, carrying the breath of high mountains and earth, seemed to transcend time and space. Forget AI; even Yu Wei might need to go all out to match it.
It seemed the first contestant to defeat AI was about to appear…
One could only say the veteran artist lived up to her reputation. After years of settling down, this national team move was too ruthless. Chi Leying inviting her meant she should win.
Thinking carefully, Teacher Zhong Qing was the first to say he had the appearance of an old friend. Quite perceptive.
But she probably hadn’t imagined back then that she would later have a chance to defeat the old friend she spoke of…
He wondered what she thought of it.
