261 'Long Time No See', 'Grey Head' and 'The Rest of My Life'
"Will you suddenly appear?
Coffee shop on the street corner
I will wave and say hello with a smile on my face
Sit and chat with you
…”
The young singer on the stage sang a song, and the originally quiet bar became lively again.
"It sounds great, as expected of Xiao Cao Xuan."
"You sing really well."
"What kind of song is this? Have you never heard of it?"
"Cao Xuan's new song "Long Time No See", a very popular song."
"One more song."
"..."
When some guests waved their hands, a waiter would place a flower basket on the stage, and the DJ would announce which table the guest had sent the flower basket to.
Seeing the enthusiastic response from the guests, the singer on the stage struck while the iron was hot and sang "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky", which once again won the house's acclaim.
Half an hour later, the young singer who sang several songs in a row came off the stage, and the boss patted him on the shoulder.
"Zhang Jie, that's great. Now he's almost as popular as Lao Tan."
Lao Tan was the mainstay of the bar. Zhang Jie smiled shyly and did not reply.
The boss didn't say much and took out a wad of money from his pocket: "This is your reward for the last month, a total of 3,600. Go back and practice hard. Especially since you have learned Cao Xuan's new songs, the guests will know how to order them."
"Don't worry, boss, I'll practice when I get back."
Zhang Jie took the money, nodded in agreement, chatted with the boss for a few more words, went back to change clothes, put on his schoolbag and left.
Zhang Jie, who came to Chengdu for school last year, majored in tourism, but because of his love for music, he worked in bars in his spare time. On the one hand, he could make some extra money, and on the other hand, he could hone his singing skills and stage experience.
Although Zhang Jie's voice was good at first, he was not welcomed as a newcomer. Later, with the help of his roommates, he came up with an idea to imitate Cao Xuan.
Imitate Cao Xuan's style, imitate Cao Xuan's singing, study Cao Xuan's songs, and sing Cao Xuan's songs well.
Zhang Jie is on the right path.
Although his voice is not completely similar to Cao Xuan's, he tried to be as close as possible and worked hard to study, which allowed him to have a certain grasp of Cao Xuan's songs, and his singing was more flavorful than other singers.
The most important thing is that he only sang Cao Xuan's songs and won the favor of many Cao Xuan fans. He was once supported by many die-hard Cao Xuan fans.
Some people praised him, and he was also very capable. Soon, Zhang Jie became popular. He was nicknamed Xiao Cao Xuan and was somewhat famous in the bar circles of Chengdu.
Many fans came here to hear how good this pirated version of Cao Xuan is compared to the original version.
In this way, Zhang Jie has earned a lot of money at a young age, and his income in the past two months has been more than his parents combined.
Zhang Jie also worked harder and harder, especially for Cao Xuan's songs. He could not listen to each song more than a hundred times, and then he worked hard to ponder it and kept singing. He even understood Cao Xuan's works better than many of Cao Xuan's hardcore fans.
Of course, he himself is actually a die-hard fan of Cao Xuan, and his long-term imitation has made him deeply admire Cao Xuan's "talent".
His biggest wish is to sing a song with his idol Cao Xuan, but he doesn't know when this will come true.
………
Zhang Jie found a place to have some food and returned to his rental house. He was busy working in the bar and the time was not fixed. It was inconvenient to go back to the dormitory. After he had a certain amount of savings, he chose to move out by himself.
The small rental house was covered with posters of Cao Xuan. Even Cao Xuan himself was moved by this scene.
Zhang Jie also specially bought second-hand old TVs and DVDs to watch Cao Xuan's albums and performance videos for imitation.
After simply cleaning up and taking a rest, he took out the new album "Four" that he had just snatched up recently and put it on the DVD to play.
There are 10 new songs. In fact, Zhang Jie has almost memorized the lyrics and music, but only a few of them can be sung proficiently. The only title song is "Long Time No See".
Now that Cao Xuan's new album is in full swing, many guests come and ask for the new songs. Zhang Jie reluctantly goes back with the excuse that he is not familiar with it. Now he has to practice hard. If the time goes on, it will easily damage his "Little Cao Xuan" brand.
As usual, the first song is "Your Answer". This song is so popular now.
Not only is the charm of the song itself, but the most important thing is that it contains Cao Xuan's own story. Many people regard "Your Answer" as Cao Xuan's personal biography song.
Especially Cao Xuan fans, looking at everything Cao Xuan has experienced in the MV, they feel heartbroken and sad, and they love and feel more about this song than other songs.
However, Cao Xuan also explained in the interview that part of the story in the "Your Answer" MV is indeed his personal experience.
For example, failing the college entrance examination, playing the suona at weddings and funerals, and the hardships of his career as an extra, are all his real experiences, of course, some parts are not so exaggerated.
For example, the part about eating steamed buns in front of the birthday cake is a fabrication. Cao Xuan spent money to buy the cake at that time. Although it was not big, he still ate it.
Being caught in the rain is normal, and everyone has these experiences, but the emotions are amplified in the MV when combined with other situations.
There were times when landlords pressed for rent, but Cao Xuan hid out and lay under the bed. It was an experience of a friend of his at the time, and he borrowed it.
As for the father played by Li Xuejian, Comrade Cao Shuangguo was not so irritable. He was often silent at that time. His parents were always afraid of irritating him. In most cases, they did not dare to say anything and discussed everything in a gentle voice.
The reason why it is shaped like this is mainly to pave the way for the plot, to suppress it first and then develop it.
Of course, although this father is portrayed as violent and strong, he also has a certain degree of warmth, and he is not considered a black man.
Comrade Cao Shuangguo was not angry either. Instead, he felt very sad when he saw Cao Xuan's experience in the capital in the back of the MV. According to Sun Lan, Cao even cried secretly later on.
In the past, Cao Xuan reported good news but not bad news. After becoming famous, he became famous. The two elders really didn't think about it before.
Now after watching the MV, I realize how miserable Cao Xuan's life was in the capital in his early years. I feel sad and distressed at the same time.
It was an accident, because Cao Xuan had brought Hu Jing home before, so when they learned the truth, the angry couple suddenly softened their attitude a lot.
Not only the old couple, but also the East and West Palaces don't know much about Cao Xuan's experience before he became famous. They were also quite shocked this time, and they are now particularly gentle and obedient to Cao Xuan.
Cao Xuan was thinking about whether he would get some benefit from being miserable in front of the two of them from now on.
Zhang Jie himself particularly likes "Your Answer" and plays it on loop these days.
I hope that I can draw strength from Cao Xuan’s song and experience to support myself in completing his music dream.
But now, Zhang Jie feels that the song he sings does not have the taste and emotion of Cao Xuan, and he is still slowly figuring out and adjusting it.
After singing "Your Answer" several times, Zhang Jie listened to "Sea of Stars", which is also his favorite song.
In fact, Cao Xuan's "Four" album is different from the previous large and comprehensive model. The songs are relatively deeper and the audience is more adult-oriented.
"Your Answer", "Sea of Stars", "Long Time No See" and finally "The Rest of My Life".
It can be said that except for "Gray Avatar", which is a promotional song for QQ, the other title songs are a bit confusing when you first listen to them.
"Your Answer" is inspiring and invincible.
"Long Time No See" killed those who had similar or frustrated emotional experiences.
The ordinary version of "Sea of Stars" is a bit like the previous "Light Chaser", and it also means a bit of secret love and running towards it. Anyone who knows it will understand.
"The Rest of My Life" is about the understanding and cognition of love. It is not dramatic but dull and sincere.
Zhang Jie likes "Your Answer" the most, followed by "Long Time No See" and "The Rest of My Life". "Stars and Sea" is actually also good, or he particularly likes this first "Four" album.
Even in Zhang Jie's heart, this album surpasses the previous "Chinese Style" and is second only to Cao Xuan's masterpiece "Bright Stars" in his heart.
The design of several song MVs is also very good, except for the very popular "Your Answer".
The setting of "Long Time No See" is similar to the lyrics. The male protagonist is walking on a familiar street, imagining that his girlfriend who has broken up appears.
The two sides greeted each other reservedly and politely. Seeing each other again after a long absence, they were already the most familiar strangers and could only say "Long time no see".
"Gray Avatar" is about a male and female protagonist who meet through QQ, meet each other, fall in love, and break up. It is almost a standard ending of an online dating movie.
There are a large number of QQ chat pages, mixed with many small details of online dating men and women.
Curiosity and temptation when we first met.
When you feel good about it, you repeatedly click on the page and wait for a reply.
After getting important love progress, I laughed like a fool in front of the screen, but my reply was steady and reserved.
When we are passionately in love, we often talk until midnight and still tirelessly, wishing we could spend more time in front of the computer desk.
When we broke up, I looked at the gray avatar and cried bitterly on the computer table. Every time I went online, I couldn't help but pay attention to the avatar that no longer jumped. I wanted to delete it several times but couldn't make up my mind...
The small QQ contains the beauty and pain of love. The beating and gray penguin avatar is impressive.
"Sea of Stars" is about secret love, there is nothing to say, there is no specific storyline, it is mainly about editing flashbacks.
However, at the end of the MV, the male protagonist played by Cao Xuan hesitates and rushes to the female protagonist played by Zeng Li, preparing to confess his love.
The plot stops abruptly when the male protagonist rushes in front of the female protagonist out of breath. You can make up your own mind on whether he confessed his feelings and whether his confession was successful.
Although it is a bit out of context, this kind of blank space is more heart-wrenching, and the audience will imagine it better.
Zhang Jie's favorite is "The Rest of the Life". This MV is Cao Xuan's most plain and heartwarming story, which gave him a yearning for a beautiful love life.
The opening scene is that the male and female protagonists get married, and then the two open a small shop. Cao Xuan purchases and sells goods, and Zeng Li does the accounting and cashiering. The two work together during the day and go home to cook together at night. The two have a tacit and sweet understanding.
Sometimes Cao Xuan was busy moving goods, and Zeng Li would feed him next to him. After eating, the two of them would work together.
Going home at night, the bicycle chain broke on the way. Cao Xuan let Zeng Li sit on the car and pushed the car while he pushed it. The shadows of the two people merged into one in the street light.
After a while, a child was born, and their world became a family of three.
The wife and daughter are playing around in the store, and the male owner played by Cao Xuan watches, working hard but with a happy smile on his face.
At noon, my wife cooks and the children take food to their parents in a sensible way. The life is ordinary but warm.
Still going home at night, his daughter was sleepy. Cao Xuan put it on his back and held hands with his wife while walking on the road. When he saw a wild flower, he picked it off and put it on his wife. When his daughter woke up and started asking for it, his wife grabbed it.
The husband's hands acted like a baby, and the family laughed and drifted away.
Many years later, when their daughter got married, the couple still ran the small shop, with the man taking charge outside and the woman taking charge inside.
It was another night, just like many years ago, the bicycle chain was broken, and the two of them, now a middle-aged couple, were still the same as they had been many years ago.
The wife was sitting in the car, and the husband was pushing the car. The two were chatting and laughing, and the shadows under the street lights were just like they were many years ago.
Accompanying this ordinary yet heart-warming touching scene, Cao Xuan’s affectionate and warm singing voice vaguely came to my ears.
"For the rest of my life, the wind and snow will be you, the plainness will be you, the poverty will be you, the glory will be you, the gentleness in my heart will be you, and wherever I look, it will be you..."
"For the rest of my life, the winter snow will be you, the spring flowers will be you, the summer rain will be you, the autumn yellow will be you, the four seasons will be warm and cold, and wherever I look, it will be you..."
