dkrc Chapter 80, First Signature, Continuous Media Interviews
Chapter 80, First Signature, Continuous Media Interviews
The morning of the third day after the press conference.
Li Si'an bought a copy of the Beijing Youth Daily at a newsstand and turned to page three.
Half the page was dedicated to his interview, titled "An 18-year-old musician? A gay man? — An interview with Li Si'an, creator of Motorola's global slogan."
The caption was accompanied by a photo of him leaning against a counter, with a wall of neatly stacked cassette tapes behind him.
Chen Nan leaned closer for a look. "This photo is great, even better than you in person."
Are you praising me or insulting me?
"He's praising you." Chen Nan took the newspaper, looked it over, and said, "A proper interview. Anzi, you're going to be a celebrity."
Li Si'an didn't reply, but folded the newspaper and placed it under the counter.
He picked up his phone and dialed Zhang Yibai's number.
It rang twice, and then the other end answered.
"Anzi? Is something wrong?"
"Director Zhang, are you free tomorrow night? Let's have dinner together."
"Eat? What's up?"
"Motorola bought the music video, and the sponsorship money has arrived. We should celebrate! I've also invited Xun Ge (Zhou Xun)."
Zhang Yibai smiled. "Sure. Where should we eat?"
"I've booked Maxim's. It's a celebration, so we should eat something good. Director Zhang, let's meet at the restaurant entrance at six tomorrow night. I won't pick you up."
"Okay, tomorrow night at six o'clock."
Li Si'an dialed Zhou Xun's number again and arranged the same time and place. Zhou Xun chuckled on the other end of the phone: "Okay, then I'll have to treat you to a good meal."
"Order whatever you want, you can order the whole menu and I won't even blink."
"You're such a chatterbox!" Zhou Xun laughed and then confirmed, "Tomorrow night at six, right? Okay, I'll be there."
After hanging up the phone, Li Si'an leaned against the counter. There weren't many people in the store; Chen Nan was organizing goods in the small storeroom, and Chen Dong was arranging videotapes.
The door was pushed open, and a girl in her early twenties came in, carrying a canvas backpack. She walked around the store, picked out a cassette tape of Tian Zhen, and went to the counter to pay.
After paying, she glanced at Li Si'an and paused for a moment.
"Are you... Li Si'an from the Beijing Youth Daily?"
"Yes, it's me," Li Si'an said, a little proud, but also slightly nervous.
This was the first time he had ever been recognized as a celebrity by a stranger; he had never experienced anything like this before.
The girl took out the Beijing Youth Daily from her schoolbag, opened it to page three, looked at the newspaper, and then looked at him.
You look better in person than in photos.
"Thank you." Li Si'an smiled, thought for a moment, and replied, "You look quite energetic too."
The girl chuckled.
"The newspaper said your album has been released? What kind of album is it?"
Li Si'an took a box of "Fairy Tale" from the shelf and handed it to her. The girl took it, flipped through it, and looked at the cover and the songs.
"It looks pretty good, I'll buy a box."
She paid for it and put the album in her backpack.
I walked to the door, then turned back.
"Here, can you sign this for me? It's the first time I've ever bought an album from a singer themselves, it's quite interesting." The girl took the album out of her bag, tore off the plastic wrapping, and handed it to Li Si'an.
Li Si'an took the tape and wrote her name on the title page.
This is the first time I've signed an autograph, so my strokes are a bit clumsy.
The girl took the album, looked at it, and smiled. "Oh dear, you really need to practice your handwriting more."
Li Si'an could only laugh awkwardly: "Well, this is the first time, please bear with me."
The girl smiled and glanced at him again, then packed the album away and went out the door.
Li Si'an sat behind the counter, reliving the scene that had just unfolded.
There wasn't much to reminisce about, mainly because that girl was too calm. She didn't have the excitement of a fan meeting their idol like in later generations.
A moment later, the phone rang. It was Lin Xiao calling.
"Mr. Li, Mr. Zhou asked me to inform you to come to the company at 2 PM this afternoon. Three media outlets have scheduled interviews with you."
"Three?"
"The Beijing Evening News, the Beijing Daily, and the Beijing reporter station of the Fan World magazine. Mr. Zhou said you need to arrive before 2 PM."
"OK."
Li Si'an arrived at the company at 2 PM.
In the annex of the Beijing Exhibition Hotel, a new metal sign has been hung on the office door—"Dong'an Records".
Zhou Weidong stood by the window and waved to Li Si'an when he saw her come in.
"Come here, let me tell you about these three companies today."
Li Si'an walked over and leaned against the desk.
"The first person to arrive was Dai Fang from the Beijing Evening News," Zhou Weidong said in a somewhat serious tone.
"You need to take this person seriously. He's a senior reporter and music critic for the Beijing Evening News. He started writing music reviews in the early 1990s and is very well-known in the industry."
"I heard that the newspaper originally sent another reporter, but he volunteered to come."
Li Si'an was taken aback. "Why?"
"They're probably after you. You made quite a splash with the Motorola thing, and they're probably curious about what you do for a living."
Li Si'an did not respond.
"Anyway, don't talk nonsense in front of him. Just answer whatever he asks, but keep your mouth shut."
Zhou Weidong continued, "The second one is the Beijing Daily, which is an official media outlet. You have to answer their questions directly, don't be sarcastic, and say something positive and uplifting."
Li Si'an nodded. "And the third one?"
"The people from the Nanjing 'Fans World' magazine, the Beijing reporter station. It's nothing special, just chat normally."
Just then, footsteps came from the hallway.
Zhou Weidong walked to the door and opened the office door. A man in his forties walked in from the stairwell, wearing a jacket and carrying a tape recorder, his steps neither fast nor slow.
"Teacher Dai!" Zhou Weidong greeted him, extending his hand. "Hello, hello, I'm Zhou Weidong, Li Si'an's uncle."
Dai Fang shook hands with him and smiled. "Mr. Zhou, it's an honor to meet you."
"You're too kind. Please come in."
Zhou Weidong ushered Dai Fang into the office, then turned slightly and winked at Li Si'an.
"This is Li Si'an, my nephew."
Li Si'an quickly walked over from her desk and warmly extended both hands. "Hello, Teacher Dai."
Dai Fang glanced at him and shook his hand. He looked around the office, sat down on the sofa, and placed the tape recorder on the coffee table.
"Does this place look like it just opened?"
"Hmm, it's not all packed yet."
"What made you decide to start your own record company?"
"Mainly because my uncle takes care of me, he trusts me and so do I," Li Si'an replied with a smile. "Also, since I own my own company, I can keep the copyrights to my songs."
Dai Fang glanced at him but didn't respond. He pushed the tape recorder forward and changed his posture.
He didn't exchange many pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"I listened to your album. You wrote all three of the main tracks yourself, right?"
"right."
"I was shocked after listening to the songs 'Fairy Tale' and 'The First Time'."
Dai Fang sat on the sofa, leaned forward, and looked at Li Si'an, saying, "To be honest, if I didn't know it was you who wrote it, I would have thought it was something by Yao Ruolong or Xiao Chong."
"Your musical style is very mature. There aren't many musicians in mainland China who can imitate the Hong Kong typhoon style to this extent."
He paused for a moment, then continued to look at Li Si'an.
"I came here today to ask you—how did you do it?"
Li Si'an's heart skipped a beat. He had thought about this question long ago.
Yesterday, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily, surnamed Wang, came to interview me, asking only about Motorola's GG language, without mentioning music composition at all. But Li Si'an knew that other reporters would definitely ask about this later.
He came up with a story, not something he made up himself—in his past life he had seen an interview with a director, Quentin Tarantino.
When asked where he got his directing skills, Quentin said he worked in a video rental store for several years, watching movies every day, and he learned by watching.
Li Si'an felt that this idea was particularly suitable for him, and since he also owned a music and video store, he could just copy it.
"If you ask me, I can't really give you a clear answer."
Li Si'an said with a smile, "I opened a music and video store, and it's been open for more than a year. I play Hong Kong and Taiwan songs in the store every day, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Emil Chau, Sandy Lam, all kinds of songs."
"After listening to it for a long time, when I'm writing songs, that's the kind of feeling that comes to mind, and I unconsciously follow that style."
Dai Fang glanced at him but didn't continue. He pushed the tape recorder towards the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa.
Do you know an American director named Quentin Tarantino?
Li Si'an's heart skipped a beat, but she steadied herself and replied, "I know. The guy who directed 'Pulp Fiction,' right? I've seen that movie."
Dai Fang nodded. "He also worked in a video store for several years when he was young, watching videos every day, and eventually learned how to make movies."
"Later, when someone asked him where he learned it, he said, 'I didn’t go to university. For me, working in a record store is like going to university.'"
He paused. "You and he seem to be on the same page. He watches videos, you listen to music. You'll get the hang of it eventually."
Li Si'an was stunned for a moment, then found it somewhat amusing.
He was just thinking that if Dai Fang pressed him on whether he could write it down just by listening, he would bring up Quentin Tarantino as corroborating evidence.
Before he could even move it out, Dai Fang brought up Quentin himself.
But on second thought, it's normal. It's not surprising that someone like Dai Fang, who's in the arts and culture scene, knows Quentin Tarantino and has seen some of his interviews.
"I'm still far from that level." Li Si'an smiled, feigning embarrassment. "He's a Palme d'Or winner, and I've only just released an album."
Dai Fang didn't reply, but jotted down a few notes in his notebook. He closed the notebook and looked at Li Si'an.
"I wasn't supposed to come today. The newspaper sent another reporter." He paused for a moment, "I told my boss I'd go instead. After listening to your two songs, I wanted to meet you in person."
He put the tape recorder back into his bag and stood up.
"That's all for today. I'll interview you again once your album becomes a hit."
Li Si'an also stood up and extended her hand. "Thank you, Teacher Dai."
Dai Fang shook his hand, patted his shoulder, and turned to leave the office.