Chapter 160: I Actually Think This Song Is Pretty Good

Because the Spring Festival Gala production team was a temporary task force assembled for the occasion, many of the members did not originally belong to the same administrative system. Consequently, the atmosphere lacked the severe formality typical of other bureaucratic meetings.

As they reviewed the running order of the show, everyone discussed freely, occasionally drifting into off-topic conversations.

"This sketch is running a bit over time. I suggest trimming it down!"

"We need to leave more time for host interactions to serve as a buffer."

"Otherwise, if the actual performance exceeds the planned schedule, it will throw off all the subsequent acts."

Seeing a sketch on the list, Hu Lina voiced her opinion.

The director in charge of language-based acts nodded upon hearing this and replied, "Indeed, we didn't consider that thoroughly enough."

"I'll make arrangements after the meeting to cut this part down by two minutes and have the actors re-rehearse and tighten it up."

And so, they went through the program line by line.

"What about this part? Let's swap the order of these two acts."

"Having two song-and-dance numbers back-to-back easily causes visual fatigue for the audience."

"Got it! I'll adjust it shortly and sync the updates!"

Since the items had already been vetted by subordinate teams and had reached the review stage, there were generally no major issues. Occasional minor flaws were quickly resolved to a consensus.

Just as they were nearing the end of the running order, Chief Director Hu Lina's gaze suddenly locked onto a particular entry.

"What's going on here?"

"Why is there still a pending act?"

Lü Yuanqing? Noticing it was a musical act, she turned her head to look at Yang Xiangcheng.

Hearing her inquiry, Yang Xiangcheng offered an explanation.

"This is Lü Yuanqing's song."

"We extended our invitation to him relatively late and under a tight schedule, so the song selection process has been a bit slow."

"However, I've reserved a four-minute slot for him. I spoke with him yesterday, and he will provide the final song selection by today at the latest."

"It won't affect our rehearsal tomorrow."

After Yang Xiangcheng finished outlining the basic situation, Hu Lina frowned slightly.

"It's better to finalize things as early as possible. Otherwise, last-minute emergencies will be difficult for us to handle."

"See if you can contact him and get it settled right now."

"We are in a meeting anyway; let's get all of this locked down!"

Yang Xiangcheng nodded and took out his phone.

"I'll give him a call and ask him to come over here..."

Before he could finish, Hu Lina waved her hand to interrupt him.

"Forget it, forget it. He is a Heavenly King after all, that wouldn't look too good."

"Since we're almost done with the program list anyway, and the rehearsal venue isn't far from here, I'll go over with you to take a look."

"As for the rest, just make adjustments according to the opinions we just discussed! Once that's done, circulate it so everyone can be on the same page."

"After the rehearsal, we can make further adjustments based on actual conditions."

***

After giving her instructions, Hu Lina concluded the meeting.

Directors Yang Xiangcheng and Hu Lina then walked and chatted together toward the rehearsal area.

Passing through the corridor, they arrived at Lü Yuanqing's rehearsal room.

As soon as they pushed the door open, they heard Lü Yuanqing singing.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

"As expected of our Heavenly King Lü! That sounds wonderful!" Hu Lina applauded and praised.

Seeing the visitors, Lü Yuanqing quickly took off his headphones and shook hands with both of them.

"Director Hu, Director Yang, what brings you here?"

Hu Lina smiled and said, "Nothing much today, just came by to see how your rehearsals are going."

Yang Xiangcheng, standing beside her, caught the cue and asked with a smile, "How is it? Has the song been chosen?"

Lü Yuanqing nodded.

"Almost. I see about four minutes have been reserved for me on the program list, and based on that time, I've narrowed it down to two songs..."

Before he could finish, Yang Xiangcheng chimed in approvingly, "That's right!"

"Just as I told you before, to play it safe, it's better to choose some familiar songs!"

"Besides, that other song really isn't very good..."

Lü Yuanqing offered a wry smile and shook his head. This was a last resort; otherwise, he truly wouldn't have wanted to sing his old tracks.

Hearing their exchange, Hu Lina asked out of curiosity, "What song?"

"Oh, nothing. I had a friend write a song earlier that I wanted to sing on the Spring Festival Gala stage, it's just that..."

Lü Yuanqing offered a brief explanation without going into detail.

To his surprise, Hu Lina suddenly took a whim.

"What song is it? Let me see!"

She wasn't very old, only in her early forties, yet she possessed extraordinary leadership. In recent years at CCTV, as a vanguard of innovation, she had consistently pushed for numerous reform policies.

This Spring Festival Gala was also being staged under the banner of innovation, with constant emphasis on introducing fresh elements. Therefore, hearing Lü Yuanqing put it that way piqued her interest.

Although feeling somewhat hesitant, Lü Yuanqing rummaged through his desk and brought out Su Chen's song sheet.

Hu Lina took the paper and began to read it with keen interest.

A moment later, she looked up at the two men.

"This song is quite good!"

"What did you say was wrong with it earlier?"

Huh?

***

Lü Yuanqing and Yang Xiangcheng were dumbfounded!

How on earth did you manage to see anything good in this song?

It was clearly... utterly mediocre!

Seeing their expressions, Hu Lina let out a chuckle, easily guessing what they were thinking.

"I don't know much about music, but just looking at the lyrics, this song fits the atmosphere of our Spring Festival perfectly!"

"What do we do during the Spring Festival? We offer New Year greetings!"

"From beginning to end, this song is full of auspicious New Year greetings. It has a strong sense of immersion and vivid imagery!"

"Look right here—men, women, old, young, uncles, and aunts are all described so specifically. Doesn't that match the joyful atmosphere of celebrating the New Year?"

"I think it's quite good!"

Neither of them had expected her to analyze it from this perspective.

Lü Yuanqing and his companion were at a loss for how to respond. How should they put it? While she did have a point, from the perspective of professional singers, this song truly lacked any brilliant highlights.

"Why did you guys scrap this song in the first place?" Hu Lina asked, observing their hesitating expressions.

"The rhythm isn't very striking, and the lyrics are mainly... too colloquial..."

Hearing their explanation, Hu Lina smiled.

"Heavenly King Lü, do me a favor and hum a few lines for me."

Realizing there was no talking his way out of it, Lü Yuanqing complied and began to hum according to her request.

Two minutes later, Hu Lina waved her hand, and Lü Yuanqing stopped.

"If I merely thought the song was pretty good earlier..."

"Then now, paired with this cheerful rhythm, I'd say this song might just become a massive hit."

"If we incorporate some joyful elements into the arrangement, there's a very high probability it will become a highlight of our Spring Festival Gala."

Wait, are you serious?

Lü Yuanqing and Yang Xiangcheng began to doubt themselves. Who on earth was the professional here?

Seeing their stunned faces, Hu Lina offered no further explanation, simply stating, "Director Yang, go ahead and have someone record the accompaniment track based on what we just discussed!"

"Trust me, it will definitely work!" she asserted with certainty.

Perhaps fearing they still had reservations, she added, "Let's push through the schedule. If the song genuinely turns out poorly in practice, we can switch back to the old song then. How does that sound?"

With that, the two men nodded and said no more.

Right at that moment, Lü Yuanqing's phone rang.

He pulled out his phone to check the screen—it was an incoming call from Su Chen.