Chapter 21 - 1#
Brilliant Galaxy#
[So beautiful!! Madam, where is this?]
[Great Author, you’re so good at taking photos!! You must be a reincarnation of a beauty, wuwu.]
[Wuzhizhi, the Ajiang Author Convention is about to start. I hope I can see your pen name on the list when I wake up. Don’t be ungrateful, or I’ll kneel and beg you QAQ.]
[Hand! Lower left! Hand! What a beautiful hand!]
[I was wondering why I couldn’t find Wuzhizhi in the ‘followed authors’ category; turns out you were categorized as a photography blogger. CoverFace.JPG]
[Hahaha, other ‘Madams’ post small theater extras and merchandise, but only Wuzhizhi lives the life of a photography blogger.]
[Holy crap, everyone is a Leeuwenhoek! I didn’t notice it at all. Slurp slurp.]
Mo Xuzhi also saw the comments.
His eyes moved slightly as he clicked on the picture, zoomed into the lower-left corner, and squinted at it.
There was indeed a faint shadow of a hand, but it was so blurred it was almost non-existent.
Do readers look at photos with magnifying glasses?
Mo Xuzhi studied it a bit more, and after confirming there was nothing else in the shot that shouldn’t be there, he chose to “lie flat” and clicked on the comments section to slowly reply.
[Suburbs of the capital, National Highway 133, taken while passing by.]
[Not a beauty ^_^.]
[Then I’ll just stay in the photography category; might not be able to get out for a while.]
Mo Xuzhi replied to a few comments. Turning his head, he found that the previous topic in the back had temporarily ended, and a staff member was coming over with a bamboo tube.
The rules were simple: those who drew the same number would be in the same group. Eight people were divided into two groups, and all subsequent activities would be carried out in the form of a competition between the two groups.
The result was not surprising at all.
He was in a group with Shen Le, Luo Wenyun, and Du Minsheng, while the other four were in the second group.
Although Mo Xuzhi didn’t understand how the subsequent “ambiguous” segments could proceed with four men in one group, since the plot required it, he didn’t want to overthink it.
“Our destination this time is the music town, Wanwan Town. We’ll arrive in about half an hour. The production team has prepared accommodation for everyone, but,” the director smiled, “the production team has prepared two types of housing: a two-story small villa and an ‘original ecology’ small wooden cabin.”
As the camera panned over, Mo Xuzhi frowned appropriately.
Du Minsheng tilted his head and asked in a low voice, “Don’t want to stay in the wooden cabin?”
Mo Xuzhi nodded, “Mm.”
Actually, he quite wanted to try staying there.
He liked to experience unknown things.
But as the protagonist, Shen Le definitely couldn’t condescend to stay in a wooden cabin. No matter the process, they would definitely end up in the small villa.
Du Minsheng stopped talking, lowering his head as if pondering something.
“What does the wooden cabin look like?” Shen Le’s eyes were filled with curiosity, looking eager to try. “Are there many flowers and plants around?”
The director smiled mysteriously: “Many.”
In an instant, everyone except Shen Le, who didn’t seem to get it, understood. (TN: ‘Flowers and plants’ often refers to mosquitoes/bugs in this context).
“After arriving at Wanwan Town, there will be a song rearrangement competition. You are required to use the same lyrics to sing a different melody. The designated track is ‘Whale’.”
Everyone looked at Du Minsheng.
“Whale” was a song Du Minsheng released a few years ago. It had once become a phenomenal hit, and the melody was long engraved in everyone’s minds. Trying to change the melody would be extremely difficult.
Not to mention that Du Minsheng wrote the lyrics and composed the melody himself; he was more familiar with it than anyone else. Changing the melody for him would be double the difficulty.
The director chuckled: “The competition wouldn’t be fair without increasing the difficulty.”
If they didn’t suppress Du Minsheng, there would be no suspense in the results, and it wouldn’t be worth watching at all.
“You can start preparing now. Instruments will be provided once we reach Wanwan Town. The competition will start at 8:00 PM tomorrow. The judges will be the residents of Wanwan Town. The high scorers can move into the small villa, while the low scorers will stay in the wooden cabin for a chance to ‘get close to nature.’ Before that, the eight guests can stay in a hotel tonight.”
Hardly anyone present wanted the “chance to get close to nature.”
The bus seats were adjustable. Mo Xuzhi and Du Minsheng turned around, forming a small circle with Shen Le and Luo Wenyun.
Mo Xuzhi was the first to speak, spreading his hands: “I’m afraid of striking a blow to the other side’s confidence, so I won’t participate. You guys do your best.”
Translated: “I don’t know how, I want to be carried to a win.”
After speaking, Mo Xuzhi leaned back in his seat and started scrolling through his phone, looking like he had made up his mind not to participate.
This competition was Shen Le’s home ground. Having just returned from abroad, he hadn’t heard Du Minsheng’s version of “Whale,” which gave him a huge advantage in this competition.
Shen Le’s performance in this competition was a very important link in the main plot for his later fame and the deepening of his relationship with Luo Wenyun. Naturally, Mo Xuzhi couldn’t mess it up.
Doing nothing and relying on others to win also fit his persona. It killed two birds with one stone.
Shen Le’s eyes lit up, then he composed himself and said softly, “This is a team activity. Teacher Mo, why don’t we do it together?”
Mo Xuzhi waved his hand.
Shen Le looked very disappointed and a bit wilted. He was already in poor health and pale, which made him look quite pitiful.
Luo Wenyun glanced at Mo Xuzhi but said nothing, only patting Shen Le’s back.
Shen Le smiled.
The cameras leaned in close to them, almost pressing against their faces to capture every subtle change in expression.
Aside from writing scores with Mo Xuzhi a few years ago, Du Minsheng wasn’t used to discussing composition with others. He remained silent, only occasionally tapping out beats with his fingers and recording them on his phone.
Luo Wenyun’s acting was top-tier, but he had few musical cells. At most, he could listen but not write. Plus, for some reason, his mood didn’t look great. For a while, the four of them fell into silence together.
The four of them in this group were all doing their own thing, a sharp contrast to the four-person group next door.
Zhang Xuanxuan was from a survival show background and had a foundation in singing and dancing. Although the movie king and queen didn’t know much about music, they could offer a suggestion or two. Fan Yibai was also working hard to show off. The atmosphere among the four of them looked incredibly active.
The cameraman responsible for the first group wanted to cry, wanting to beg them to just open their mouths.
In the silence, Mo Xuzhi tilted his head and leaned closer to Du Minsheng, tilting his phone toward him and asking, “Is it this one?”
His phone screen showed the lyrics page for “Whale” on Pineapple Music.
Mo Xuzhi was looking at the song he wrote.
Du Minsheng’s fingers moved, and he realized his palms were unconsciously sweating.
He nodded, his voice a bit low: “Mm.”
Mo Xuzhi put on his headphones and smiled: “The lyrics are beautiful.”
Du Minsheng pursed his lips, his sharp features softening. He looked a bit awkward, and his earlobes unconsciously turned red.
Mo Xuzhi glanced at his ears and smiled again: “Just like before. This part hasn’t changed.”
Du Minsheng’s ears would turn red whenever he was praised. It was like this back in the small bar, and it still hadn’t changed.
Luo Wenyun raised his eyes to glance at the two of them, then lowered his head and opened his phone.
After Mo Xuzhi finished speaking, he ignored everyone’s reactions and started tinkering with his phone. Seeing a sudden message pop up, his eyebrows only raised slightly before he returned to normal and didn’t engage in further conversation.
Du Minsheng also put on his headphones.
Seeing Mo Xuzhi’s words just now, a staff member felt there was something worth digging into. Just as they were about to speak, both of them swiftly put on their headphones with a “keep away” aura, so the staff had to give up for now.
Mo Xuzhi was listening to Du Minsheng’s “Whale.”
Although “Whale” was popular, he was stuck in the lab at the time. At most, he heard other researchers hum a few lines; he didn’t have a deep impression and didn’t even know what the lyrics were.
After searching for the lyrics just now, he got interested and had some ideas. He wanted to hear how Du Minsheng expressed this song.
After the length of a song, when Mo Xuzhi took off his headphones again, the bus had already pulled over.
He looked out the window and saw colorful small flowers planted by the roadside, enclosed by wooden fences. Some musical notes were even carved on the fences.
They had arrived at Wanwan Town.
The staff asked the guests to claim their suitcases one by one. Du Minsheng walked ahead of Mo Xuzhi, took off his headphones, and silently picked up two suitcases.
One was his own, and one was Mo Xuzhi’s.
It just so happened that Wang Zhifeng had sent over a reorganized experiment record. Mo Xuzhi opened the file and looked up to say thanks.
Mo Xuzhi didn’t refuse.
The tense string in his heart loosened, and Du Minsheng smiled.
He wasn’t used to smiling; it was very faint, but others could tell he was happy at a glance.
Zhang Xuanxuan leaned in and started teasing, “Brother Du is so good to Brother Mo!”
Du Minsheng returned to his usual expression. Not wanting to make the girl feel awkward, he gave a slight nod.
Mo Xuzhi, however, looked up and laughed after hearing Zhang Xuanxuan’s voice—a very flamboyant and eye-catching laugh.
With her heart thumping, Zhang Xuanxuan didn’t dare stay another second. She pulled her mini suitcase and followed the movie king and queen.
Damn it, if she stayed any longer, she might not be able to resist fighting Du Minsheng for the suitcase.
The last ones to come out were Shen Le and Luo Wenyun. Luo Wenyun was carrying two suitcases, and Shen Le followed behind, his face a bit pale.
Mo Xuzhi remembered there was such a plot in the book.
Shen Le, as a noble “white lotus,” was surprisingly independent and strong. Faced with Luo Wenyun’s inquiry about whether he needed help, he firmly refused.
Then he had an episode.
It wasn’t serious, just a poor complexion and weak hands.
Thus, the suitcases ended up in Luo Wenyun’s hands anyway.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing Mo Xuzhi still looking back, Du Minsheng stopped and said, “There’s nothing good to see over there.”
Two hypocritical people performing for each other—nothing to see.
“Okay.”
Mo Xuzhi also felt there was nothing good to see with Shen Le and the other. He only looked back to confirm if there were any changes to the plot.
The soul of a dedicated worker.
The hotel booked by the production team was on the other side of Wanwan Town. The road wasn’t long, and they could walk, allowing them to see the scenery along the way.
“This is the instrument shop. It has all kinds of instruments inside. The production team spent a fortune renting it for all of you. As long as you need it, feel free to use it—but if anything is damaged, you’ll have to pay according to the price!”
Although most of Mo Xuzhi’s attention was on his phone, he still noticed Du Minsheng’s pace slowing down.
He was looking at the instruments inside the glass-walled shop.
The group of eight followed the staff to the booked hotel.
The director took out paper slips for drawing, smiling kindly: “Funds are tight, so we only booked four double rooms.”