NCCnovel Chapter 205, Song 1: "Let's Take a Look at Chang Zhang's House," The Cleaning La
Chapter 205, Song 1: "Let's Take a Look at Chang Zhang's House," The Cleaning La
Outside CCTV's Studio One in Beijing.
The corridor was bustling with noise, filled with celebrities dressed in glamorous haute couture gowns and accompanied by large teams of assistants.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of various expensive perfumes mixed together.
Wang Guihua huddled in a corner of the waiting room, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her faded red cotton-padded jacket.
She was trembling all over, and her forehead was covered in a thick layer of cold sweat.
"Director Lin, how about... how about we go back?"
Wang Guihua's voice trembled as she looked at the big stars around her whom she had only seen on TV.
"I'm just a janitor, how dare I stand in a place like this? If I bring shame to our company, I'll never have a clear conscience for the rest of my life."
Lin Zhou handed her a bottle of warm water, his smile gentle yet firm.
"Aunt Wang, please remember, music has no distinction of high or low, noble or base. As long as it can touch people's hearts, it is the best heavenly music."
"You are no worse than anyone else."
Just then.
A piercingly loud, hoarse voice shattered the tranquility of the corner of the waiting room.
"Hey, isn't this our newly crowned king of singers, Director Lin?"
Li Tian, dressed in an extravagant suit covered in sequins, swaggered over with Zhao Xu and Wang Mengmeng.
The three of them had just signed S-level contracts with Dynasty Entertainment and thought they had climbed to a high position; they were riding high at the moment.
"I heard that Starry Sky Media doesn't even have a single decent artist left. I thought it was just some marketing article making things up."
Li Tian looked Wang Guihua up and down, who was huddled in the corner, and couldn't help but chuckle, clutching his stomach.
"What's going on? Is Director Lin really driven to the brink, planning to push Aunt Wang from our cleaning department onto the Spring Festival Gala stage?"
"You're not here to perform, you're here to sabotage CCTV's event, are you?"
Wang Mengmeng also laughed sweetly, her eyes full of disdain.
"Hey Tian, don't say that. What if Director Lin is here to bid for the cleaning outsourcing project for this year's Spring Festival Gala? It's perfectly normal for him to bring a sample worker to check out the venue."
Hearing this harsh mockery, Wang Guihua lowered her head even further, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Lin Zhou didn't even lift his eyelids.
He slowly and deliberately straightened the collar of Wang Guihua's cotton-padded jacket before turning his head and coldly glancing at the three of them.
"Aunt Wang does work as a cleaner."
"The best thing a cleaner does is sweep up trash."
Lin Zhou's lips curled into a sharp, cold smile.
"You three better stand back. I'm afraid Aunt Wang's professional instincts will kick in and she'll sweep all three clumps of non-recyclable trash into the slop bucket with her mop."
"you!"
Li Tian's face instantly turned ashen, and he was about to lash out.
"Program number 34, submitted by Starry Sky Media, is preparing to enter Studio One to wait!"
The event staff shouted something through a megaphone.
Lin Zhou didn't even glance at the three clowns again, gently took Wang Guihua's arm, and strode into the final trial.
Li Tian stared fiercely at Lin Zhou's back and spat on the ground.
"Stop pretending to be all high and mighty! I'd like to see how you get past Director Feng with a cleaning lady by your side!"
……
The atmosphere in the studio was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Feng Gang, the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, was rubbing his temples wearily, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
I watched more than a dozen shows featuring so-called "traffic stars" in a row, and they were all just mindless pop songs and weak singing and dancing.
It simply cannot support the profound sense of national and familial sentiment that is present on New Year's Eve.
"Starry Sky Media?"
Feng Gang looked at the program in his hand, then at Wang Guihua, who was standing awkwardly in the center of the stage, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"Lin Zhou, what are you up to? This is the final review for the Spring Festival Gala, and you're bringing some amateur who doesn't even know how to stand in position to fool me?"
Lin Zhou stood beside the mixing console and calmly spoke into the microphone.
"Director Feng, give me three minutes."
"If this song cannot move you, I, Lin Zhou, along with Starry Sky Media, will never set foot on CCTV again."
Feng Gang was taken aback.
He looked into Lin Zhou's extremely determined eyes and finally waved his hand.
Play the accompaniment.
The simple strumming of an acoustic guitar slowly filled the empty studio.
There was no grand orchestral music, no explosive electronic sounds.
Wang Guihua gripped the microphone tightly with both hands and closed her eyes.
In my mind, all I could see was my son's pale, smiling face on his sickbed, and my elderly mother's dying cries from the countryside.
"Find some free time, find some time."
"Take your children and visit home often..."
When the first line of the song, with its heavy graininess and the vicissitudes of time, was sung...
The entire studio fell into a deathly silence.
The sound is too rough.
There is absolutely no vocal technique involved.
But it is this roughness that carries an irresistible, down-to-earth charm, like a gentle yet powerful hammer that strikes straight into everyone's heart.
Feng Gang, who was sitting on the judging panel, suddenly sat up straight, his body that had been leaning back in his chair.
He stared intently at the ordinary-looking middle-aged woman on the stage.
"Bring a smile, bring your blessings."
"Spend time with your loved one, and visit home often..."
Feng Gang's eyes instantly reddened.
He is a typical workaholic. In order to prepare for this year's Spring Festival Gala, he has not been back to his hometown in Northeast China for two whole years.
Every time he calls, his elderly mother always tells him that everything is fine at home and that he can focus on his work.
But he knew that his mother's eyesight was failing.
"Mom prepared some nagging, and Dad prepared a delicious meal..."
As she sang the climax, Wang Guihua's voice trembled with an uncontrollable sob.
That slight sob shattered the psychological defenses of everyone present.
Several emotional female directors covered their mouths and cried in the audience.
The song ended.
The audience was silent.
A good ten seconds or so passed.
Feng Gang suddenly stood up, ripped off his work cap, and slammed it heavily on the table.
"good!"
"You sang so well!"
Feng Gang wiped away his tears and shouted excitedly.
"This is true peace and prosperity! This is the song that ordinary people most want to hear on New Year's Eve!"
"I want this show! It has to air right on New Year's Eve at 8 PM, prime time, not a single second can be cut!"
……
Just three days later.
A rehearsal audio clip, only fifteen seconds long, was accidentally leaked online by an internal staff member.
It was like dropping a depth charge into a calm lake.
It instantly went viral across the internet!
This song dominated the top three trending topics on Weibo.
[Oh my god! Who is this lady? I burst into tears after listening for ten seconds!]
I've already bought a standing ticket for tonight; I'm going home to see my mom!
This is a true soul singer! A million times better than those pop stars who only know how to auto-tune their voices!
The names of Starry Sky Media and Wang Guihua are now inextricably linked.
Overnight, Aunt Wang became a universally recognized, tear-jerking "national mother" on the internet.
Meanwhile.
New Year's Eve.
Thousands of lights shone, and firecrackers crackled in unison.
In a small, cold, rented room outside the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing.
The air was thick with the sour smell of cheap takeout and cheap alcohol.
Li Tian, Zhao Xu, and Wang Mengmeng slumped dejectedly in a worn-out sofa.
After they switched to Dynasty Entertainment, they only enjoyed the preferential treatment for three days.
With Zhou Lixing overwhelmed by Su Zhentian's series of attacks, Royal Dynasty Entertainment's cash flow became extremely tight. These three traitors, who had no commercial monetization capabilities, were immediately discarded and sidelined.
Spring Festival Gala preliminary review?
They weren't even allowed to enter the gate before the production team rejected them outright for being "unremarkable."
At this moment, the television screen was flashing with festive light.
The passionate voice of the famous CCTV host resonated throughout the country.
"Next, please enjoy the song 'Come Home Often' performed by Wang Guihua, the nation's best mom, presented by Starry Sky Media!"
Center stage.
The dazzling lights came on.
The cleaning lady who was once considered as lowly as dirt in their eyes is now wearing a festive red sweater, standing on the highest-level stage in China, receiving applause and tears from over a billion viewers across the country.
"Mom prepared some nagging, and Dad prepared a delicious meal..."
The warm singing echoed in the cold rented room.
Li Tian stared intently at the television screen, his face ashen white, devoid of any color.
The beer can in his hand was completely deformed from being squeezed, and the sharp aluminum shards cut his fingers, but he seemed not to feel the pain.
Zhao Xu and Wang Mengmeng slumped onto the sofa, trembling all over.
An indescribable sense of regret gnawed at their hearts like ten thousand venomous snakes.
If we hadn't terminated the contract back then.
If they hadn't betrayed Starry Sky Media for personal gain.
Are they the ones standing on that dazzling stage now, enjoying the worship of the entire internet?
"Ring ring—"
Wang Mengmeng's phone suddenly rang, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silent room.
She answered the phone with trembling hands.
On the other end of the phone was the cold, ruthless voice of the director of Royal Dynasty Entertainment.
"Wang Mengmeng, in view of the recent negative public opinion and lack of commercial output of the three of you, the company has decided to officially suspend you."
"You don't need to come to the company after the New Year. Get ready to pay the penalty for breach of contract."
"Beep—beep—"
The phone hangs up.
The phone fell to the ground with a "thud".
Li Tian and his two companions watched Wang Guihua on TV, beaming with smiles and receiving cheers from the entire audience, and then completely collapsed onto the worn-out sofa.
All that remained was endless despair.