Chapter Forty-Six: Two Words—Magnificent Presence

The song Wang Mo mentioned was, of course, "Empty City."

In his eyes, this song was tailor-made for Hao Mingxing. No one else would fit. Even if there were other singers capable of performing "Empty City" well, Wang Mo would not give it to them. As things stood, Wang Mo was very satisfied with Hao Mingxing, both in terms of his character and personality. What’s more, Hao had showcased impressive martial arts skills earlier that evening, which delighted Wang Mo even further.

Of course, to participate in a major music variety show like "Singer’s Style," just "Indifference" and "Empty City" would not be enough. But Wang Mo had the system on his side—and that was enough! Even if the system didn’t produce new songs in time, "Empty City" alone would suffice to make Hao Mingxing shine on "Singer’s Style." The more famous Hao Mingxing became, the more money Wang Mo would earn, and the more renowned "Speechless" would become.

So, this was a journey where both sides moved toward each other...

No, he thought, spitting mentally.

This was a win-win.

...

After lunch, he returned to the company.

Wang Mo immediately went back to his desk, pulled up "Empty City" from his email, and sent it to Hao Mingxing.

During this time, he received a message from Yuan Xiong.

Yuan Xiong said that because Wang Mo’s livestream the previous night had created such a sensation, he was now at the center of attention. The company was developing a new risk management strategy and a fresh streaming plan for him. As for livestreaming, it would be paused for two or three days—a buffer period.

Wang Mo agreed wholeheartedly; he also thought his performance in the previous night’s stream had been superb, and netizens needed a day or two to digest it.

Taking a sip of coffee, his eyes landed on another email in his inbox.

The subject was: October Composition Department Performance Report.

He opened it and raised his eyebrows. Perhaps because his two songs had taken the top spots on the rookie and new song charts in August and September, September saw the composition department breaking free from its previous slump, with two songs entering the top ten!

One ranked ninth on the rookie chart.

Another ranked fifth on the new song chart.

A brilliant achievement!

“Amazing!” Wang Mo exclaimed, no wonder lately Director Liu had been walking with such confidence—he now had a solid foundation.

Hearing his self-talk, a colleague sitting nearby leaned over, glanced at his screen, and smiled, “Brother Mo, the composition department owes its success largely to you.”

“Me?” Wang Mo asked.

“That’s right,” the colleague replied. “It was your outstanding performance in August and September that greatly encouraged our composition department. The positive buzz online has really elevated the status of composers like us. So even though you didn’t write any songs in October, everyone’s morale remained high and inspiration kept flowing. That’s why we produced so many good songs.”

He sighed, “It’s just a pity you weren’t here in July. If you had been, we might have landed that huge contract with Central TV. If we had that under our belt, we composers would have even more confidence.”

Wang Mo was surprised. “Central TV?”

His colleague nodded, “Yes, a program team from Central TV put out a call across the internet for a theme song for one of their shows early in July. Our composition department participated, but all seven or eight songs we submitted were rejected.”

He spread his hands, a little regretful, “Central TV rarely makes open calls for songs. Having a song certified by them really elevates your status. That’s why everyone cherished the opportunity. Especially since the song was to be related to the Forbidden City. If selected, it could represent the official image and be permanently preserved. What an honor! What pride! Yet in the end, our entire department failed...”

Before he finished speaking, Wang Mo, who had been listening idly, suddenly sat up straight. “What did you say? The Forbidden City? The song Central TV requested was about the Forbidden City?”

His colleague nodded, “Yes.”

Wang Mo took a moment to process the news and frowned, “This must have ended a while ago, right?”

After all, this was a July event. Three months had passed—surely it was all over.

His colleague nodded as well, “Probably ended already.”

He remembered that the event had made quite a stir at the time. Many entertainment companies and independent composers had participated. Landing a song with Central TV was usually not a problem.

Wang Mo sighed regretfully. Some opportunities, once missed, are lost forever.

Still, he opened his browser and decided to check exactly what kind of song about the Forbidden City Central TV had sought, and which song had ultimately been chosen.

He searched.

Entered the keywords.

A few seconds later, Wang Mo stiffened slightly.

Because the first news headline was: [Central TV’s Song Search Remains Unresolved After Three Months.]

What?

Wang Mo rubbed his eyes and saw he wasn’t mistaken. He asked his colleague, “Do you still have the original requirements document from Central TV’s song search?”

“I do,” his colleague replied, a bit puzzled, but quickly forwarded the email to Wang Mo.

The main content was as follows:

This song search by Central TV was for the theme song of a documentary about the Forbidden City. As Central TV was producing a major documentary called "The Forbidden City," which covers five thousand years of Chinese civilization, culture, and historical heritage, and to some extent represents the image of the nation, the production team hoped for a theme song that would encapsulate the aura of the Forbidden City, the sweep of history, imperial grandeur, and the spirit of the nation.

As for the requirements, the production team listed just two words: majestic and grand.

Incredibly simple.

But these two words made composing the theme song a three-month unsolved problem.

At the time, upon seeing Central TV’s requirements, everyone realized it wasn’t so simple.

“Majestic? Could it be any more vague?”

“That requirement is as good as saying nothing.”

“How is this any different from ‘a kaleidoscopic black’?”

“Come on, can you be more specific? With such a brief, I really can’t write a song.”

“...”

Despite these complaints, countless composers still threw themselves into the competition for the theme song of "The Forbidden City." Even top entertainment companies like Yunhai Media and Qiming Entertainment joined in.

Yet none of them caught the eye of the production team.

After understanding how all this came about, Wang Mo’s heart pounded fiercely.

Now he understood why, when he had drawn from the song chest, he’d received "Scales of Heaven and Earth." And why, these past days, he’d been wondering where the right opportunity to release it might be.

Only at this moment did Wang Mo grasp the system’s intent.

“I really am a fool,” he cursed himself inwardly.

Suppressing his excitement, he went to Liu Zhengwen’s office.

Director Liu beamed at the sight of him, “Wang Mo, what brings you here?”

“Director Liu, do you have contact information for the Central TV documentary team for ‘The Forbidden City’?”

“Hmm?”

“Could you let me have it?”

“Huh?”

“I want to submit a song.”

“What?”