As Mo Yan was lost in thought, the show began.
With the experience of the previous episode, the audience knew the flow.
The large screen was already displaying stories selected by the production team.
These were chosen from the top twenty most liked by netizens.
Last episode, other than the story from listening to the rain fans, everything else was random. This episode, however, the production team had a theme: "Recalling Youth."
With graduation season approaching, the topic of "youth" was hotly discussed. For students stepping into their dream universities or graduating and entering society, either scenario marked a turning point in life. This also led countless adults to reminisce about their own youth.
"The first story, I once liked a boy in my class..."
The storyteller was a girl, and her experience was common among many. She liked the most outstanding boy in the class but never confessed her feelings even by graduation. Unrequited love was a common theme in youth. Some regretted it, while others reminisced with a smile. Regardless, there was always a touch of regret.
"I choose this one!" Jiang Qian was the first to choose.
The others had no objections. After all, Jiang Qian was the only female producer, and she was indeed well-suited to write about a girl's secret crush.
The second and third stories were typical tales of breakups after graduation. The difference was that the protagonist of the second story still had contact with her ex, and they were both striving in their respective cities with the goal of getting back together. The third story had no contact, but the man still couldn't forget her.
Zhou Qingshan chose the second story.
Su Yu felt that these stories were all quite similar, so he chose the third one.
When the fourth story appeared, there was no image of the protagonist, only a picture of a note.
"Mo Yuan, we promised to get into Jingyi together. You have to work hard!"
Upon seeing the note, Mo Yan's pupils dilated sharply! His breathing grew rapid.
"Teacher Mo Yan?" Su Yu noticed his abnormality.
"It's nothing," Mo Yan replied with a smile, shaking his head. He suppressed the surge of emotion within him, trying to appear calm.
The protagonist of the story was a woman with a pleasant voice. She began to narrate her story with Mo Yuan. She recalled meeting him in school, and how they agreed to apply to the same university. Unfortunately, her parents sent her abroad. During her years abroad, she waited for Mo Yuan to find her, but he never did.
Three years later, she returned to China, still unable to let go. However, in the vast sea of people, Mo Yuan had moved, and she had no contact information. Finding someone was too difficult. By chance, while attending a parent-teacher meeting for her sister's child, she saw that person again. But that man was now a parent himself. After a brief greeting, they didn't exchange another word. The story ended there.
...
Upon hearing this, Mo Yan was bewildered: "???"
Her sister's child? Why didn't she say so then? Oh, he hadn't asked either, nor had he mentioned that Shen Jinghong was just his disciple. But she should have been able to find out about his relationship with Shen Jinghong online, right? If she knew, why didn't she come to find him?
It was the first time in his life that he had been caught up in gossip about himself. He didn't know if Zhao Yan was telling the truth about it being her sister's child at the parent-teacher meeting, as there were too many inconsistencies. But he knew that note, and the handwriting on it, were definitely from back then! Even if the parent-teacher meeting was a misunderstanding, it had been over a decade. Why would she bring it up on his show now? Was she still waiting for him??? How could that be?
At this thought, Mo Yan became completely flustered. He realized he couldn't quite grasp the situation.
Meanwhile, the bullet comments were also discussing the story.
"This is even more heartbreaking than not meeting!"
"After meeting years later, the person in her heart is already a father. Is she still waiting?"
"Unimaginable, the feelings they had in school made this woman wait for so many years!"
"It's too late. Even if that man saw her, he's already married with children. I think a simple greeting when they meet again would be the best outcome!"
"The other producers have already chosen. This story can only go to Teacher Mo Yan."
Since all the stories had been chosen, the next step was to select the singers.
Zhou Qingshan preferred to choose more mature singers. This time, he chose a super-first-tier singer who was excellent at singing love songs.
Then, as Su Yu was about to make his choice, Jiang Qian suddenly spoke, "Xiao Yu, can I choose first?" She winked at Su Yu.
"Teacher Jiang Qian, please go ahead," Su Yu replied with a smile.
"I choose Jiang Xiao'e," Jiang Qian said promptly.
All the singers present were stunned and then looked at Jiang Xiao'e. Jiang Xiao'e herself didn't know what to do for a moment. She had thought she was just there to go through the motions this time, but she hadn't expected Jiang Qian to choose her.
"I really liked her debut song, 'Later.' I plan to write a song in that style today, so she's the most suitable to sing it," Jiang Qian explained.
"Th-thank you, Teacher Jiang Qian!" Jiang Xiao'e said, and then walked to Jiang Qian's side. She glanced at Su Yu, and like Zhang Wei, she felt a sense of being swapped or mentored. However, after Su Yu gave her a thumbs-up, she felt reassured.
Su Yu now understood that the producers of this show wanted to try out their respective singer teams, and they were clearly supporting their own singers. This was a good thing for Su Yu. Besides, he hadn't planned to choose Jiang Xiao'e for this song, so Su Yu was naturally happy that Jiang Qian chose her.
"Xiao Yu," Mo Yan called out to him just as Su Yu was about to make his selection.
"Teacher Mo Yan, is something the matter?" Su Yu felt that Mo Yan was not in the right state today.
"I want to swap stories with you, is that possible?" Mo Yan took a deep breath and said with a smile. He felt that if he tried to write it himself, due to his state of mind, he wouldn't be able to produce anything in a short time. Furthermore, since it was a live broadcast, if he inadvertently revealed anything and caused a major sensation, it might implicate Zhao Yan. Therefore, he chose to investigate the matter further later. He was confident in Su Yu's ability to complete the story, unlike other producers, so he approached Su Yu to swap themes.
Su Yu was slightly taken aback, then nodded, "No problem." There were no regulations in the production team against swapping after selection, as the choices were all discussed. Therefore, there was no violation of rules.
"For the singer, I'll choose Gong Juren," Su Yu said with a smile. All stories were the same, and the song for this story was better. He regretted choosing earlier. If he had known, he would have chosen the fourth story. Now that they had swapped, it would definitely be better for Gong Juren to sing this song. Primarily, by choosing Gong Juren, he would have someone to play games with for five hours, so it wouldn't be too boring in the lounge.
Su Yu chose Gong Juren, and Mo Yan naturally chose Shen Jinghong. Then, everyone headed towards the lounge together.
"Brother Yu, did you bring a charger?"
"Of course."
"Heh heh, that's good..."
Zhou Qingshan and the others heard the conversation between Su Yu and Gong Juren and almost spat out a mouthful of blood. They were there to write songs, and they were forming a team to play games?
...
ps: Mo Yan won't have much screen time later. In these chapters, I plan to make this character more three-dimensional. Also, many readers have urged me to start the overseas arc soon. I've been laying the groundwork for the overseas plot recently. After this episode, the protagonist will go to the world stage. I'll also be collecting famous songs or cultural elements from the countries I mentioned earlier. The overseas journey won't be all about competitions; there will be other flashy displays of skill. This book will soon reach its one-year mark, with close to two million words, and it's entering its later stages. Thanks to all the friends who have been following the story and growing with me and Su Yu!