136: Chapter 141 Weibo Night

Chen Mo sat on the sofa, his fingers resting on his knees, his expression calm, possessing a sense of relaxation that only comes with having weathered the storms of life.

"American packaging won't help you write 'Let Me Love You'; the person who wrote that song is me. Packaging can be changed, but talent cannot. I can speak fluent English, use the most advanced recording studios, and wear the most expensive suits—"

"But if the songs I write aren't good, all these things combined are just a beautifully packaged empty box. An empty box won't sell a second time, but physical copies of 'Epiphany' sold tens of millions. The people who bought those albums didn't pay for the packaging. Packaging can fool people once, but it can't fool them many times."

He placed his water glass on the coffee table, looked directly into the camera, and said, "So those who doubt me don't need to worry; I still have a concert tour to hold."

The reporter pushed the recorder forward and asked, "Have the dates and locations for the tour been set?"

"Next year."

"Can you reveal any locations?"

"There will be a few shows domestically," he stood up, straightened his cuffs, and added, "You can wait for the news."

During the second half of Weibo Night, the performance segment had just ended, and as the lights came back on, the heating in the venue finally managed to push back some of the chill from the minus ten-degree weather outside.

Chen Mo stepped out of the interview room, and before he could even take a sip of water, someone was already approaching quickly from behind in the hallway—the sound of a group of footsteps echoed throughout the performance passage backstage at the awards ceremony.

The first person he saw was Lay Zhang.

Lay Zhang was wearing a black suit, his hair dyed back to a dark brown, and he looked a size thinner than he did during the Go Fighting! era, but his eyes were very bright.

He walked up to Chen Mo and stopped, didn't shake hands, but instead opened his arms and gave him a hug.

"I watched the version of 'Safe & Sound' you sang at the Billboard Women in Music event. I watched it on my phone backstage, and after I finished, I sat in the dressing room for a long time without moving." Lay Zhang let go of him and took half a step back, but his hand remained on Chen Mo's shoulder.

"I replayed the breathing points in that segment over and over. When you sang 'Just close your eyes,' you took such a long pause between the two words. That pause was something you added on the spot, wasn't it!"

Chen Mo nodded and explained, "That pause was for her to react. It wasn't in the rehearsal; I saw her sitting in the audience and decided to pause for a moment."

Lay Zhang pulled his hand back, a flicker of contemplation flashing in his eyes, and said, "That is what love is."

Chen Mo noticed the dark circles under his eyes and asked, "Have you been staying up late again recently?"

Lay Zhang smiled sheepishly and said, "I've changed the choreography for the new album a dozen times. Last night, I stayed in the practice room until past four in the morning, still tweaking the balance of the movements."

Chen Mo patted his shoulder and said, "You're the professional when it comes to dance."

Lu Han came from another direction. He was wearing a dark blue suit, his hair a bit shorter than when they last met in the rehearsal room. He wasn't holding a trophy—he hadn't won any awards tonight—but his expression was relaxed. They chatted for a few minutes about his recent work, specifically his band.

Down the hall, Kris Wu was being surrounded by reporters for an interview. He wore a black haute couture suit, his hair dyed back to a dark color, and his demeanor was much more relaxed than it had been at the gym last time.

After the reporters finished asking him questions about xxx, he walked out of the crowd and stopped in front of Chen Mo.

"xxx has finished filming. Luc mentioned you on set, saying your theme song was fantastic. After he heard it, he replaced the backup track. He said that song fit the film's vibe better, possessing that drive to rush up from the bottom."

Chen Mo nodded and said that the bridge of that song had been revised many times, and in the end, they chose the version he had recorded at the very beginning.

"I really admire you, truly. You're very famous in Hollywood; everyone knows you." Kris Wu suddenly said, "That's not just polite talk. I was once envious of your popularity and wanted to surpass you."

Chen Mo said expressionlessly, "What you should be trying to surpass me in isn't popularity, but talent."

Kris Wu was silent for a moment and then said that he had learned quite a bit on set.

He used to think Hollywood was another world, but after going there, he realized that resources are just resources, and how others perceive you depends on how you perform.

"Next time there's a suitable role, I'll mention it to your manager. Luc told me about your performance in xxx; he said you have potential."

Kris Wu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he extended his hand, saying, "Thanks. What you said just now was right."

Chen Mo shook it; this time, Kris Wu's grip was much firmer than before.

Huang Zitao popped out from behind Kris Wu. He wasn't wearing a suit jacket, his white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and he looked like he had just stepped off a treadmill.

"Bro!!!!!"

The entire hallway heard him.

He rushed over, looked up at Chen Mo for two seconds, and then said that when Luc came to China for promotion, he mentioned Chen Mo. The exact words were:

"'That Chinese kid doesn't just sing. He writes stories into notes.'"

"The director also said that the theme song you gave him won everyone over. Everyone on set was playing it on loop. Bro, how did you get him to praise you like that?"

Chen Mo said he just wrote one song.

Huang Zitao pressed him, asking how one song could be enough?!

Chen Mo said, "One song is enough, as long as that song is the right one."

Huang Zitao's eyes widened, and he fell silent for several seconds before taking a step back, pulling out his phone, and opening his notes app: "Wait a second, I'm writing this down. 'One song is enough, as long as that song is the right one.' In the future, when I release an album and people ask me why I only put a few songs on it, I'll just say this."

Chen Mo watched Huang Zitao's serious expression as he typed, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

He felt this guy was somewhat indescribable. To be honest, Huang Zitao was very bad at making music.

In his previous life, he had heard some of it and felt that all those years Huang spent in Korea had been a waste.

After Huang Zitao finished writing it down, he put his phone back in his pocket.

Chen Mo patted his shoulder and said, "Music isn't about trying to look cool. If you want to make a name for yourself, do it properly."

Three boys in dark blue suits walked over in a line, their steps as uniform as if they had walked down a red carpet countless times. However, as they got closer, one could see that Wang Xiaokai's bow tie was slightly crooked to the left, likely from him tugging on it while nervous while waiting in the wings.

They stopped, bowed in unison, and introduced themselves, their movements as synchronized as if they had rehearsed countless times.

Wang Xiaokai straightened up, his ear tips slightly red. His voice was steady, but his Adam's apple bobbed first as he said, "Teacher Chen Mo, I'm Wang Xiaokai. There's something I'd like to ask you for advice on."

"No need to call me teacher. What is it?"

"Brother Mo, we watched your performances at the Grammy Awards and Coachella. How did you cultivate that 'in control of everything' aura? In China, we are required to smile all the time and be gentle to our fans, but you—"

"You seem to completely ignore the cameras. How is this 'unapologetic confidence' built?"

The three of them were currently at the entrance to the peak of their careers in China; they weren't tall, all still having the physique of children.

Chen Mo unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip of water, and then slowly began to speak, continuing to elaborate.

"Expressions and movements all serve the stage. Besides, the stage doesn't require pandering; people who don't like you won't like you just because you pander to them."

Wang Xiaokai looked down at his fingers, his Adam's apple rolling gently, and said, "I'll remember that. Thank you, Teacher Chen Mo."

Wang Yuan stood next to Wang Xiaokai, his feet slightly apart, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right and back again.

"Teacher Chen Mo, what I want to ask about is songwriting."

"Go ahead."