At the same time, after Xuan Ze sent out the outline of the screenplay, he took out a notebook his mother had left behind in his study, written in remembrance of his father.
His mother had studied in France in her early years, embodying the sentimentality of a literary youth, merging Eastern gentleness with Western elegance within herself, living a life of distinctive elegance.
When his father passed away, he was still young, and he once asked his mother if she wasn’t saddened by his death.
The clearest memory he had was when his mother said, "Xuan Ze, it was not easy for your father and me to meet, to stay together, or to have the shallow fate we did, amidst countless hardships, but I promised him, I would live happily, at any time."
At that time, he understood his mother a bit more, as she was the one who suffered the most.
This was also why, after so many years, he still hadn’t found someone suitable to play the role of his mother, hence he kept refining the screenplay.
When he saw Yuran, he felt she was suitable in that instant, and it was really just a feeling.
Now that he thought about it, he started to feel uncertain again.
A bit later, he contacted a friend abroad, hoping they would compose music for his mother’s notebook.
The words his mother left behind were beautiful, succinct; if one were to call it a diary, it would be more fitting to describe it as lyrics instead.
Upon hearing the request, Xuan Ze’s friend quickly refused, "Xuan Ze, if I compose for it, you’ll find it jarring. Your mother’s cultural heritage is too strong, and I grew up abroad since I was very young, never absorbing domestic culture, I can’t compose music with a Chinese style.
You’re putting me in a difficult position and wasting your mother’s notebook. However, hasn’t there been a rising talent with a strong Chinese style in the circles recently? I’ve seen the pieces she’s composed.
If it really doesn’t work out, why not utilize your mother’s connections? Those senior figures from the older generation would understand."
Having returned to his country not long before, Xuan Ze hadn’t been paying much attention, so he asked, "Who?"
"Yuran, from what I hear from friends in the industry, she completed more than a dozen pieces for the entire weekly series ’General’s Token’, and even wrote a character theme for ’Hero’s’ Huai An, quite impressive."
Xuan Ze frowned, and after hanging up the phone, he wondered, could it be the Yuran he knew of?
A quick online search proved it was indeed...
After he reviewed Yuran’s astonishing resume, he found it unbelievable. He first listened to the main theme of ’General’s Token’, the ending theme, and the two featured songs, sensing a style that was innovative yet filled with a Chinese essence.
The character theme from ’Hero’ had a completely different style, grand and majestic.
He tapped his fingers on the desk and sent a text to Qi Younian: The Yuran you recommended, can she compose songs too?
He quickly received a reply from Qi Younian: Yes, and she writes quite well, with a style all her own.
Qi Younian didn’t disclose this to Yuran, as he wasn’t sure what Xuan Ze meant by bringing this up.
’General’s Token’, as a weekly series, enjoyed flexible viewership and repeated broadcasts, and as a web exclusive on Tomato Network, the first two episodes garnered a cumulative viewership of three hundred million in one week.
In the second week, four episodes were to be aired, and of course, Tomato Network’s exclusive streaming would be updated at midnight after the initial broadcast platform’s airing.
However, the ratings were very good, with top acting talents elevating the premiere ratings to over 2, a pleasant surprise. Additionally, the name M.YU became well-known; as the plot progressed, the ups and downs were driven by the insertion of songs and melodies!
The success of a TV series relies not only on its own merits, but undeniably on a team effort, rather than just a part of the team.