Chapter 028: Swapping the Order of Appearance

The news of Lin Feng accepting Zhou Ziqian’s challenge on “Music PK Arena” sent shockwaves through everyone. No one believed Lin Feng could possibly win—how could a basketball player hope to compete in original music composition against a renowned musician? Wasn’t he just courting disaster?

Even Lin Feng’s fans were worried on his behalf. While it’s often said that culture and sports share common ground, basketball and music are worlds apart. When news broke that Lin Feng and Zhou Ziqian had set a date, Jiang Kai—the other central figure in the recent online spat—was quick to update his microblog: Waiting for a certain someone to kneel and apologize! And, since you’ve dared accept a challenge on “Music PK Arena,” how about joining this year’s Micro Film Competition organized by the China Film Association? I happen to be shifting into directing and have already signed up. If we compete in acting, it wouldn’t be fair to you. Why not test ourselves as directors, since we’re both newcomers in that field? How about it, do you dare take up the gauntlet?

Jiang Kai spoke as if this were a fair contest, but even a fool could see that the gap from actor to director was far less than the chasm between basketball player and director. For an actor, it’s like moving from one room to another within the same house; for a basketball player, it’s the difference between Earth and the Moon! The disparity in difficulty was obvious.

As soon as Jiang Kai posted this, Lin Feng’s fans erupted, denouncing him as shameless, and urging Lin Feng not to act recklessly. But Lin Feng’s response stunned everyone once again: “Jiang Kai, so what—you’re willing to quit the film industry if I beat you in the Micro Film Competition?”

“Deal! If you win, I’ll quit, never act again!” Jiang Kai replied swiftly.

“Alright, I’m signing up!” Lin Feng answered without hesitation.

Seeing Lin Feng accept yet another challenge, the online community was thrown into even greater turmoil.

“Is Lin Feng insane?”

“He must be. No sane person would do this.”

“A basketball player, taking on challenges from both the music and film industries? Who knows what’s going on in his head!”

“He’s too arrogant. A bit of success in one field, and he thinks he’s invincible!”

“I love Lin Feng’s confidence and dominance on the court, but this time, he’s gone too far. He’s overreached himself…”

“Let’s just wait for the results. Maybe he’s just acting on impulse today.”

…

Having confirmed the challenge with Jiang Kai, Lin Feng logged onto the China Film Association’s official website, registered an account, and navigated to this year’s Micro Film Competition page.

This annual competition aims to discover creative, talented new film directors. The ultimate winner receives generous rewards, and the Best Director in the Micro Film category is granted an investment worth tens of millions. Since the competition is led by the Film Association and organized by major film companies, its prizes are highly coveted and respected. This year marked the sixteenth edition, and many now-prominent directors had risen to fame through this very contest.

Lin Feng skimmed the rules: the competition was open to nearly everyone—register with your real name, sign up, and upload your original micro film to participate. The only prerequisite was that the work be original.

However, each year had a specific theme that entries were required to address. This year’s theme was “Dreams.”

“People can lose everything, but not their dreams. Without dreams, there is neither motivation nor direction to move forward…”—this was the event’s official slogan.

Lin Feng read the words silently. The slogan captured the spirit of countless individuals striving toward their dreams.

Gazing at the theme, he pondered for a moment, then proceeded to the registration page. Uploading the work was not required at sign-up; one simply had to register, and as long as the film was submitted within the specified period, the registration would remain valid.

Lin Feng filled out his basic personal information as prompted. In the section for the work’s title, he wrote three words: “Old Boys.”

…

The next day, news of Lin Feng’s challenges to Zhou Ziqian and Jiang Kai inundated the media. Once again, Lin Feng’s name dominated both entertainment and sports headlines.

This time, the press was less kind—nearly every outlet accused Lin Feng of egotism, adopting a wait-and-see attitude as if anticipating a spectacle.

Yet Lin Feng had little attention to spare for the news. Today was the day he would record for “Original Good Songs.” At this moment, he was backstage at Studio One of Central Television.

As a controversial figure with a hit like “The Eyes That Love to Laugh,” Lin Feng was shown special consideration by the production team. Unlike other contestants, he was not made to wait in the common area, to prevent his participation from leaking prematurely. Even the four mentors were unaware of his appearance on the show.

Initially, the producers had not planned to keep Lin Feng’s participation a secret, but after rumors about him and Qin Ruolin surfaced, they changed their minds, keeping things under wraps for the sake of dramatic effect. After all, what reactions might the other three mentors have when they saw Lin Feng—rumored boyfriend of their fellow mentor, Qin Ruolin—taking the stage? Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin appearing together was certain to be a major draw.

…

After noon, Wu Daren arrived at Lin Feng’s private lounge carrying two boxed lunches.

“Eat first. After lunch, you’ll be the first to record,” Wu said, setting down the boxes.

“I thought we’d finish in the morning. This won’t make me late for tonight’s match, will it?” Lin Feng’s phone had been ringing off the hook with calls from Shen Ziqiang while he was waiting.

With the championship finals about to begin, the team’s leading player was still nowhere to be found. Of course the coach was anxious—it was Jiangning’s best chance at a title, and everyone believed that as long as Lin Feng could play, the championship was theirs.

“You’ll definitely make it in time. You’ll finish recording by 1:30 at the latest. It takes no more than three hours to get from Yanjing to North City, and your game’s at 7:30 in the evening. You’ll have plenty of time!” Wu Daren opened his lunch and ate as he spoke.

“That’s a relief. If I miss the game, the Jiangning fans will have my head,” Lin Feng grinned.

“With you there, the championship’s in the bag!” Wu replied, taking a bite. “But honestly, you were too impulsive. How could you agree to face Zhou Ziqian on ‘Music PK Arena’? You know what he’s accomplished.”

“You don’t think I can win?” Lin Feng countered.

“If I hadn’t heard your ‘The Eyes That Love to Laugh,’ I’d have zero faith. But now, I have a little hope. Still, unless you have three more songs of that caliber, your odds are slim,” Wu admitted frankly.

Lin Feng nodded. “No matter what, I’ll do my best to win this PK.”

“Then all I can do is wish you luck!” Wu Daren smiled.

Just then, the door burst open and Wu’s assistant, Su Wenjing, hurried in.

“Director Wu, something’s wrong,” she blurted, out of breath.

“What’s happened? Take your time,” Wu said, setting down his chopsticks, puzzled.

“Producer Qian, he…” Su Wenjing hesitated, glancing at Lin Feng.

“What about him? Speak up!”

“He’s moved Lin Feng’s appearance to the very end—wants him as the finale!” Su Wenjing announced.

…