Chapter Twenty-Two: Nominated for Best Original Song

“I’m Jiang Yun. What’s the matter?”

“Oh my god! Do you know who I just met? I actually ran into Jiang Yun!” Wang Meng was visibly excited.

Jiang Yun was completely baffled. Could this delivery guy really be a fan?

“Jiang Yun, let me pay for your meal today!”

Jiang Yun was at a loss for words—who cared if he wanted to treat?

“But I’ve already paid for it on my phone.”

“Well… all right then,” Wang Meng replied, a bit embarrassed.

“Jiang Yun, could I get your autograph?”

“I don’t have a pen!” The food was forty minutes late, and Jiang Yun was already in a bad mood, so he responded to Wang Meng’s request with indifference.

“I’ve got one! Here!” Wang Meng pulled out a marker from his pocket.

Jiang Yun was speechless. What kind of person carries a marker around with them?

Reluctantly, Jiang Yun signed his name for Wang Meng, scrawling it across the back of his shirt. Wang Meng kept craning his neck to look at it, showing off like it was a badge of honor.

After sending Wang Meng on his way, Jiang Yun carried the food back to his room. Who would have thought his first time eating river snail noodles would turn out like this? Shaking his head, he finally began to eat.

The twelfth episode of “You’re the Most Talented” had already aired online. This brought Jiang Yun another surge of popularity.

“System, open my personal panel.”

“Beep!”

Host: Jiang Yun.

Vocal ability: S-level (enough to support a massive concert)
Acting skills: D+ (better than most kids)
Directing ability: D (can shoot a low-budget indie film)
Acquired skills: Special forces physique, master chef, piano virtuoso, S-level hand speed.
Owned items: Three S-level acting experience cards.
Owned songs: “Hypocrisy,” “Crossing the Sea to See You,” “Fragrant Rice,” “Heartbroken Pacific,” “Getting Rich,” “One Night in Summer Capital,” “Blue and White Porcelain.”
Popularity: 7,653,086

Jiang Yun nodded—his popularity had indeed risen again.

After dinner, Jiang Yun felt a little bored. What should he do with himself? Ever since the finals, he’d been living a laid-back, idle life. No one bothered him, as if he’d been forgotten by the world.

Train in the simulation room? He didn’t feel like it. After thinking for a while, he made a plan.

First, call Li Lulu to check on her. Then go to the studio to record “One Night in Summer Capital” and “Blue and White Porcelain” and send them to He Yong.

After that, thank Zhou Lun for helping him out that day—with a song, as promised.

No sooner said than done.

Jiang Yun dialed Li Lulu’s number.

Ring… ring…

“Hello? Boss.”

“What took you so long to answer?”

“Boss…”

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yun frowned. He could hear sniffling on the other end.

“Boss, could I borrow some money from you?” Li Lulu said over the phone.

“Of course you can! But you have to tell me what happened.”

“Boss! My dad’s condition has worsened. He needs a coronary bypass surgery!”

“What? Wasn’t he fine before?”

“He… he drank again!”

Jiang Yun was speechless. This guy was really reckless. “All right, how much do you need?”

“Three… no, a hundred thousand. A hundred thousand will do!” She’d almost said three hundred thousand, but changed her mind at the last second.

Afraid Jiang Yun would refuse, Li Lulu hurried to add, “Boss, I promise I’ll pay you back!”

Jiang Yun chuckled, “I trust you. Send me your account number.”

“Thank you, boss, thank you!” Li Lulu fumbled for her bank card. “6217 xxxx…”

“I can’t transfer you money like this!”

“What’s wrong, boss?”

“If you recite it over the phone, I won’t remember!”

“Oh, right! Sorry, boss, I forgot!”

They hung up, and Li Lulu began to compose a text.

Beep beep!

Jiang Yun received the message and started the transfer. He typed in 300,000, then thought for a moment, deleted it, and entered 500,000 instead.

The mobile transfer went through instantly; as soon as Jiang Yun finished, Li Lulu’s phone buzzed with a notification.

Ring ring!

Jiang Yun picked up.

“Hello? Boss. Why did you send so much?”

“He’ll need post-op care, and recovery costs money too. Even half a million might not be enough,” Jiang Yun replied.

“Boss, we won’t need that much. We have insurance!”

“Just take it!” Jiang Yun put on a stern tone.

“But I’m afraid I won’t be able to pay you back!”

“Take your time—think of it as an advance on your salary,” Jiang Yun said.

“Thank you, boss, thank you so much!” Li Lulu was overwhelmed with gratitude.

They chatted a while longer, then hung up.

“Well, that’s that. Back to square one,” Jiang Yun muttered, after calculating his balance. He had just over 800,000 left.

He got dressed, went downstairs, and took a cab to the city’s most high-end recording studio.

“Mr. Wei? Free right now?”

“Xiao Jiang? I knew you’d show up!” Wei Meng greeted him.

Jiang Yun smiled.

“I watched ‘You’re the Most Talented.’ You did great,” Wei Meng praised.

Jiang Yun replied modestly, “It was just a small thing.”

“How could you call that a small thing?” Wei Meng said. “You’ve been nominated for the National Original Song Awards!”

“What?” Jiang Yun was stunned. “I had no idea.”

“You haven’t checked Weibo, have you?”

Jiang Yun shook his head.

He pulled out his phone and opened Weibo. His followers had surpassed ten million—now at 18.52 million.

He drew a sharp breath. An increase of more than thirteen million—he was floored. The online broadcast of “You’re the Most Talented” had really sent him soaring.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Meng asked.

“Oh, nothing—just a surge in followers.”

Jiang Yun began browsing the trending topics.

Shocking! The people’s favorite talent is nominated for the “Original Song Award”!
Unbelievable! Five of the talent’s songs top the “Billboard”!
Astonishing! Seven of the talent’s songs make the “Original Song Award” charts!

Incredible—three trending topics, all about him.

He clicked on the second trending topic.

Best Pop Song—“Hypocrisy,” “Heartbroken Pacific.”
Best Original Song—“One Night in Summer Capital,” “Blue and White Porcelain.”
Best Innovative Song—“Getting Rich.”

As for “Crossing the Sea to See You” and “Fragrant Rice,” they weren’t listed because Jiang Yun had licensed the performing rights to others. He only retained the copyright as composer and lyricist.

Jiang Yun clicked the first trending topic.

Best Original Song—“Blue and White Porcelain.”
Best Composition—“Blue and White Porcelain.”
Best Lyrics—“Blue and White Porcelain.”
Song of the Year—“Blue and White Porcelain.”

Jiang Yun tried to steady his emotions, but his excitement was still plain to see. After all, these were the most prestigious awards, and he had four nominations.

There were still four months until the awards ceremony—almost time for the New Year.

He clicked on the third trending topic.

There wasn’t much to see there—just some music rankings. As long as the song was original, it could make the list. Still, it had some reference value.