Chapter Sixty: Release of the Theme Song for "The Forbidden City"

Because Shi Qing had taken the initiative to admit defeat, Fu Zhuang naturally became the singer of "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales."

After the meeting ended and the crowd dispersed, Fu Zhuang found Wang Mo at once, beaming like an excited child. "Brother Mo, I won," he said, rubbing his hands together incessantly, unable to contain his excitement.

Wang Mo smiled faintly. "Hmm. Let me ask you, when you tried out earlier, was that just a temporary burst of energy, or did your singing skills actually break through to a new level?"

Fu Zhuang scratched his head and chuckled, "I guess it was the result of long, steady progress finally breaking through."

Wang Mo raised his eyebrows in surprise—Fu Zhuang's words confirmed his own suspicions.

Was this really possible?

Previously, although Fu Zhuang’s singing had been excellent, it was far from top tier, and his voice lacked a distinctive quality. That was why he had lingered among the third-tier singers, unable to advance. Wang Mo had chosen Fu Zhuang simply because his vocal timbre was suitable for "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales."

But now, with Fu Zhuang's singing skills improved and with "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales" as his foundation, he might well have the chance to break into the top ranks in the future.

"This is..." Wang Mo began, taken aback.

Seeing Wang Mo’s expression, Fu Zhuang continued, "Brother Mo, to be honest, I’ve felt for a while that I’d hit a bottleneck with my singing. But this time, the breakthrough was mostly thanks to your encouragement. When I tried out, at first I was just average, not in the right state. But as I sang, I kept thinking about going up against the national team, and about how you said that it wouldn’t matter if I failed, because you’d write another song for me. In that moment, my head got hot, my blood surged, and suddenly everything became clear in my mind..."

Wang Mo cut off his flattery and said hurriedly, "Sing a couple of lines for me right now."

Fu Zhuang did as asked, cleared his throat, and began to sing a cappella.

After just a few lines, Wang Mo found himself nodding in approval. Fu Zhuang had told the truth—his singing was now fresher and more resolute than before. Most importantly, his voice, previously lacking in distinction, now possessed an indescribable magnetism.

With Wang Mo’s experience, he could tell that this magnetic quality might prove irresistible to young women.

"Could it be that, given time, he’ll be another Wang Lihong?" the thought flashed through Wang Mo's mind.

Of course, it was too soon to say such things. But no matter what, Fu Zhuang’s breakthrough was undoubtedly a good thing for Wang Mo. The better Fu Zhuang performed in recording "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales," the greater the response once the song was released.

That was exactly the result Wang Mo wanted.

...

The next day, Fu Zhuang left CCTV with the "Forbidden City" filming crew and headed to the Palace Museum to shoot the music video.

According to Wu Yong, if all went smoothly, the music video for "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales" could be finished in just three or four days. At that point, the "Forbidden City" production team would release the theme song right away.

After all, with just one week left before the documentary’s premiere on CCTV, time was of the essence.

As for Wang Mo, he returned quickly to the Magic City that very afternoon. The longer he stayed in the capital, the greater the risk of being exposed.

No sooner had he arrived than Liu Zhengwen dragged him into his office. "Well, well," Liu grinned, "I heard that after you went to the capital, you managed to get in good with some literary giants?"

Wang Mo blinked. "Director Liu, you heard about that?"

"Of course! I’m a company executive, after all, and you’re my employee. How could your boss not know what you’re up to?"

Wang Mo nodded. "True enough. But what does that have to do with you?"

"It does!" Liu Zhengwen replied. "This is a big, happy occasion. Why don’t you lend me a few more thousand? Not much—fifty thousand will do."

What?

Wang Mo took a deep breath. "Director Liu, I believe you still owe me nearly a hundred thousand."

Liu Zhengwen brushed this off. "I’m asking to borrow money; what does it matter how much I already owe? No matter how much I owe, that doesn’t stop me from borrowing more, does it?"

That actually made a weird kind of sense. For a moment, Wang Mo was at a loss for words.

"What do you need all that money for?" Wang Mo asked. "Don’t tell me you really have someone else out there? If your wife finds out, you’ll be in big trouble."

"Nonsense!" Liu Zhengwen snapped. "Do I seem like that kind of person? I need the money for business. Let me explain: you should know that plenty of insiders in the music industry are watching your third song. Especially since your third song is the theme for a CCTV documentary, there’s a lot of skepticism."

"Of course, that’s normal. Even the best composers can’t make every song a hit. But you just happened to get hyped up, and now everyone’s pasted the label of ‘how important is the composer’ onto you. So your third song is destined to become a focal point. When it’s released, it’s bound to attract massive attention. For us composers, this is a heaven-sent opportunity! That’s why I want to invest a sum of money to heavily promote the composer’s status after ‘Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales’ is released. This time, I want to stir things up and give composers the respect they deserve!"

Wang Mo thought for a moment. "Director Liu, there’s no need to waste your money."

Liu Zhengwen was surprised. "Why not? Are you not confident in ‘Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales’?"

Wang Mo shook his head. He was too confident in "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales."

Reading Wang Mo’s expression, Liu Zhengwen curled his lip.

Well! This kid is even more arrogant than I am!

...

In the days that followed, Wang Mo shifted his focus back to live streaming for the time being.

"You’ll be able to start streaming again soon," Yuan Xiong assured him.

Although Wang Mo was thriving in the composition department, the company’s top brass still believed that his live streams were the most important thing. Especially after his recent trip to the capital and his connections with several literary luminaries, the higher-ups had devoted even more resources and attention to his streaming.

"When exactly?" Wang Mo asked.

"At most a week," Yuan Xiong replied.

Wang Mo grinned. "That’s about the same time as the release of ‘Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales,’ isn’t it?"

"Just about," Yuan Xiong nodded.

On the fifth day after Wang Mo’s return to the Magic City, he received a call from Fu Zhuang. "Brother Mo, both the song and the music video for ‘Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales’ are all done. If nothing unexpected happens, the ‘Forbidden City’ production team will officially announce it within a few hours."

"Alright," Wang Mo replied, ending the call and keeping a close eye on online developments.

Sure enough, at three o’clock that afternoon, the official account for the "Forbidden City" documentary posted an announcement on Weibo: "The large-scale documentary ‘Forbidden City’ will air this Saturday night on CCTV Channel 9. The theme song and music video for this documentary have also been completed and have been released simultaneously on all major music platforms. Please listen and watch!"

Naturally, in the content area of the post, the official account had embedded the music video for "Heaven and Earth Dragon Scales." With just a click, anyone could watch it.

The entire music world, and indeed countless insiders and fans, had been eagerly anticipating the theme song for "Forbidden City." Now, at last, it had arrived.