Chapter 1064: Convincing the Heavenly Queen!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The next day.
Zhang Ye got up at five in the morning and started walking around in his room with his hands behind his back. He walked from his room into the living room, then from the living room to the balcony, all the while trying to think of ideas.
His mother yawned as she opened her bedroom door and came out. "Whoa, what are you doing?"
Zhang Ye turned around and said, "Thinking of something."
His mother looked at the clock. "This early?"
Still in his pajamas, his father also came out to have a look. "What are you doing up so early? Do you want to have breakfast?"
"No thanks. Don't worry about me. Go back to bed," Zhang Ye said.
The other contestants had invited very capable guest partners for King of Masked Singers. Although there wasn't a publicized list, Zhang Ye could just about guess who would be there. They were all B-list big shots, so if he wanted to take the crown of the Masked King in the grand finals, the guest partner he invited would be an extremely crucial factor. He already had a candidate in mind. Of all the people he knew, only she was still available as a choice to him.
Yes, that person was Zhang Yuanqi!
The famous Heavenly Queen of the pop music scene and film industry!
This fellow had been stirred up by the netizens' comments that said that he did not know any big name stars! If that was the case, then he would just need to find one to prove them wrong!
An S-list superstar!
The one of very few at the top of the entertainment circle!
How should he ask her?
How should he invite her?
If it were anyone else, they'd definitely not be able to get her to agree!
They wouldn't even have needed to consider it. An S-list celebrity like her would never agree to take part in a singing competition show. If she won on it, it would have been expected. But if she lost, that would be embarrassing. She also didn't need to take part in the show, because at her level, not many things could move her anymore. As such, the biggest celebrity the program team had on their contestants' invitation list when King of Masked Singers started its production was Li Yu, the front runner of the B-list Celebrity Rankings. They did not try to invite any A-list celebrities, much less an S-list Heavenly Queen. Beijing Television and the program team knew that those people would never agree to join their show!
The same was true in Zhang Ye's previous world. It would be almost impossible for the current, most popular Heavenly Kings and Queens to join any singing competitions. Like Faye Wong, would it be possible that she would join one? Or Andy Lau, would that be possible either?
This didn't even need to be touched on!
But luckily, Zhang Ye managed to come up with an idea very quickly. He didn't know if it would work, but with a sparkle in his eye, he quickly returned to his bedroom. He immersed himself into remembering those songs from his previous world that were considered classic male‑female duets. Finally, he chose two of them and started writing the lyrics and musical notation down. Other people might not understand Zhang Yuanqi, but he did. She was someone who was especially nice and friendly to other people in public, but was in fact irascible in private. He knew that Zhang Yuanqi's greatest weakness was that a good song would appeal to her more than anything else.
He kept himself busy with the songwriting until 9 AM, when he finally finished it.
Zhang Ye picked up The Clown's cell phone and called Fang Weihong.
Du du. The call connected.
Zhang Ye spoke very carefully and switched to a gruff voice. "Hello."
Fang Weihong said: "Hello, who is this?"
Zhang Ye: "Is this Zhang Yuanqi's manager, Fang Weihong?"
"This is she," Fang Weihong said.
"This is The Clown." He got straight to the point.
Fang Weihong was stunned. "The Clown? The Clown from King of Masked Singers?"
Zhang Ye said: "Yes."
Fang Weihong immediately said: "We've been trying to find a way to contact you all this time. Sister Zhang has been particularly hoping to get to know you and has mentioned it to me several times already. What is it that you're calling me for?"
"I have something that I would like to seek Teacher Zhang's help for."
"What is it? Can I pass the message along? Or do you want to contact Sister Zhang directly?"
"Well, why don't we do it this way? I'll send two songs over first."
"Songs?"
"Yes."
Fang Weihong was worthy of being an elite manager of the industry. When she heard him say that, she could almost immediately guess what he wanted. "Are you calling about the King of Masked Singers' grand finals? Are you thinking of inviting Sister Zhang to be your celebrity guest partner?"
"Does Teacher Zhang have time?"
"I'm not too sure about that. I have to check."
"OK, I'll send the songs over first then."
"Alright…then. I can only help you ask. But whether it'll work, I can't guarantee. By the way, don't you have a lot of friends in the music scene? Why would you approach Sister Zhang for this?"
"Why does everyone think that I have many friends?"
Fang Weihong chuckled at this.
That's true.
It's not like that was a guaranteed thing.
Just like that Zhang Ye who had a pretty good relationship with Sister Zhang. He was very popular and experienced, but his social ties were just terrible. There was hardly anyone in the entertainment industry who liked him.
Fang Weihong said, "OK, I'll speak to Sister Zhang about this."
"Thank you."
After hanging up, Zhang Ye quietly waited for the outcome.
Ten minutes…
Half an hour…
One hour…
However, Fang Weihong's call did not arrive. Instead, it was Zhang Yuanqi who contacted him. She did not contact him on The Clown's cell phone, but on his personal phone's chat app.
Di di.
Zhang Yuanqi: "Show yourself."
Zhang Ye was startled, then replied: "I'm here."
"Did you write those songs for The Clown?"
Zhang Ye gulped.
"He just sent me two songs and I've taken a look at them. I think they're really good, so tell me the truth, did you write all of his songs for him?"
Zhang Ye played dumb. "Nope."
"Are you friends with The Clown? Are you two on very good terms? I have to spend so much effort just to get you to write me a song, yet you've written so many of them for The Clown in such a short period of time?"
Zhang Ye laughed and typed: "It's really not me."
"He invited me to appear as his celebrity guest partner in the grand finals."
"Oh, is that so?"
"What are your views on that?"
"I don't know. Go if you like, don't go if you don't want to."
"When will you write another two songs for me?"
Zhang Ye coughed. "Let's talk about that some other time."
"Who exactly is The Clown?"
"I'd like to know as well."
Zhang Yuanqi said stiffly: "Alright, I'm off."
Zhang Ye typed: "Bye."
Afterwards, Zhang Ye continued to wait. He was really unsure if he could invite Zhang Yuanqi, so he could only try to do it this way. If it really didn't work, at most he would just go ahead and reveal his identity to her. Based on his relationship with Old Zhang and his reputation, he believed that he would still be able to convince her to join him on the show.
In the afternoon, Fang Weihong's call finally arrived.
Fang Weihong immediately spoke when the call connected: "Is it convenient to ask about your identity?"
"Can I keep it a secret for now?"
"It's like this: You should know that with Sister Zhang's status, she doesn't usually take part in competitive variety shows. Although you're good at singing and Sister Zhang also lacks some good duet songs, but…"
"I know that."
"That's why I'd like to ask you about your identity. Sister Zhang's exact words were: If it were any of my better friends, I'd definitely help out. But if this is just a case of working together, then…"
"Is that how it is?"
"Do you know Sister Zhang?"
"…I know her."
"Are you close with her?"
"…I am."
On the other end of the line, Fang Weihong was surprised by this response.
They really knew each other?
And they're even quite close?
Fang Weihong was a little unsure. She couldn't just take the other party's words at face value as this was not a trivial matter, after all. So she asked: "Sorry for asking you so abruptly, but what does Sister Zhang like to drink?"
The Clown answered: "…Wine."
Fang Weihong was taken aback: "She seldom drinks."
The Clown said: "She often drinks."
Fang Weihong fell silent. Zhang Yuanqi had always been guarded whenever she was in the public eye and was the same even among her normal friends. As such, there were some things about her that no one would know from the news or hearsay from the industry. There really weren't many people who knew that Old Zhang liked to drink, and Fang Weihong was one of the few who did. So when Fang Weihong realized that The Clown did not fall for her trick when she tried to fool him, she understood that The Clown really knew about this!
She was sure of it!
This person definitely knew Sister Zhang well!
Who was he?
Just who could it be?
Fang Weihong wanted to ask, but hesitated and eventually stifled her curiosity. "Alright, I understand. I'll communicate this to Sister Zhang, so wait for my news."
"OK, thank you."