Volume One, Chapter 62: Guoqing’s Invitation

It took just over two hours to fly from Jiangxia to the capital. Early in the morning, Su Muyu accompanied Jiang Yu to the airport, and soon he arrived in the capital.

As he exited the airport, a young man was holding a conspicuous sign. Jiang Yu approached him and pulled down half of his mask. "Hello, I'm Jiang Yu."

The young man glanced at Jiang Yu and then, with excitement, said, "Hello, Mr. Jiang Yu! My name is Zhang Hai. Minister Yang sent me to pick you up. You can just call me Xiao Zhang. I'm a huge fan of yours!"

Jiang Yu smiled, "Thank you. I haven’t had breakfast yet. How about we grab a bite together? My treat!"

Hearing this, Zhang Hai’s eyes lit up, but then dimmed again. "I’m afraid not, Mr. Jiang. The leaders are all waiting for you. Once work is done, I’ll treat you instead."

"Then let’s hurry, so we don’t keep the leaders waiting," Jiang Yu replied.

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Jiang Yu froze on the spot. There, in bold characters, was the unmistakable sign.

How did he end up at the National Television Station?

The National Television Station—the undisputed leader of all broadcasters!

"Xiao Zhang, are you sure you didn’t bring me to the wrong place?"

Zhang Hai shook his head, "The leaders are all waiting inside, Mr. Jiang. Please follow me."

Jiang Yu had never imagined that one day he would walk into the National Television Station’s main building.

Following Zhang Hai, the two stopped at an office door.

"Mr. Jiang, please go in. The leaders are inside."

Jiang Yu nodded and knocked.

"Come in," a voice called from within.

Responding, Jiang Yu entered the office—and was immediately stunned.

The office was filled with people, among them several in military uniform. Judging by their insignia, these were generals!

"Ah, Xiao Jiang, you’re here! Take a seat," Yang He greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, hello, leaders." Yang He’s voice snapped Jiang Yu out of his daze. After greeting everyone, he hurriedly took the last seat.

Seeing Jiang Yu’s state, Yang He couldn’t help but laugh. "Let me introduce you. This is the head of the XX Military Region’s Art Troupe... This is the director of the National Arts Troupe, also a renowned composer..."

With each introduction, Jiang Yu grew more bewildered.

They were all big shots—either leaders of art troupes or directors of performance groups.

Listening to the introductions, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but wonder—why had Minister Yang called him to such an occasion?

"This must be Jiang Yu. I wanted to meet you in Jiangxia, but preparations for National Day kept me busy. Today, I finally get to see you. I’m actually in charge of parade training, but when Old Yang told me you’d be coming today, I took special leave just to meet you."

One of the uniformed generals addressed Jiang Yu kindly.

Jiang Yu remembered from the introductions—this was Commander Yu Zhiwei from the Jiangxia Military Region.

"Hello, General Yu..." Jiang Yu rose to his feet.

"No need to stand, sit and talk," Yu Zhiwei said with a warm smile. "At the Army Day Gala in Jiangxia, I heard you sing ‘We Soldiers’—you moved my men to tears. You’ve written a truly excellent song!"

Jiang Yu felt a little embarrassed. "Thank you for your praise, sir."

"So this is the young man who wrote ‘We Soldiers’—the song that’s been all over the place recently," a middle-aged man with graying hair said with a laugh, his eyes full of appreciation as he looked at Jiang Yu.

This was Zhou Wenwu, the director of the Capital Art Troupe. Though not widely known, he was a prominent figure in the entertainment industry.

"Old Zhou, you flatter me. I only managed to write it by sheer luck," Jiang Yu replied modestly.

"Not arrogant, not impatient—good, very good!" Zhou Wenwu smiled, "I heard the People’s Daily even praised you a few days ago. Young man, you’re impressive. You’re much more agreeable than those pretentious types in the entertainment business. Yang He has a good eye!"

As he spoke, he gave a thumbs up.

Jiang Yu grew even more embarrassed. "You’re too kind, sir."

"It’s fine to be humble, but too much humility becomes arrogance. I’ve listened to all your songs—they’re truly remarkable. There aren’t many young people these days who can compose like you."

Finally, Yang He spoke up. "Alright, enough of the praise. We don’t want to make the young man arrogant."

As he spoke, his gaze settled on Jiang Yu.

"I suppose you’re wondering why I called you here?"

Jiang Yu nodded, his eyes tinged with confusion.

Yang He smiled. "I asked you here today for two reasons. National Day is coming up—you’re aware of that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Jiang Yu replied.

"There will be a National Day Gala. Each entertainment company has been assigned to submit a program for selection. You’re highly capable, so I recommended you for a slot. You’ll submit a program as well."

In fact, before arriving in the capital, Jiang Yu had already guessed what Minister Yang wanted from him.

But he’d been told to submit programs through his company—why bring him all the way to the capital?

Jiang Yu scratched his head. "Minister Yang, if you’d just notified me, I could have sent you the program directly."

At his words, Yang He smiled, but his expression quickly turned serious. "Actually, the first matter is simple for you, and I’m not worried. What’s difficult is the second, which is why I had to bring you here."

Jiang Yu paused in surprise.

Yang He sighed and continued, "Everyone here today is a leading composer or arranger in our country. The reason for gathering them is to compose a new piece..."

"To accompany the military parade."

At those words, Jiang Yu was thunderstruck, as if a bolt of lightning had exploded in his mind.

This was enormous!

He didn’t catch anything else that was said after that.

"Xiao Jiang, do you have the confidence to take this on?" Yang He asked, once everything had been explained.

Jiang Yu managed a wry smile. "Minister Yang... that’s a lot of pressure. I’ve only been out of university for less than two months!"

"But you’re a genius, aren’t you?" Yang He laughed. "Don’t worry—you’re here mainly to learn from these seniors. They need fresh perspectives, so I brought you in."

"This is a challenge, young man—don’t be afraid!" Yu Zhiwei added. "Since you wrote ‘We Soldiers’ so well, I’m sure you’ll be fine!"

Jiang Yu scratched his head with another uneasy smile. "I’ll... I’ll give it a try."

"Good. Rest well for the next couple of days. We’ll officially begin work the day after tomorrow."

...

Even after leaving the building, Jiang Yu’s mind was still reeling. Once back in his prepared room, he took out his phone and immediately dialed a number.

"Xiaoyu, I might not be able to come back for a while."

"What’s the matter?" On the other end, Su Muyu asked curiously.

"Minister Yang wants me to take part in the National Day Gala."

"That’s not a big deal. Why can’t you come back? There’s more than a month left—you could prepare your program in Jiangxia all the same," Su Muyu said. For any major gala, the process was the same—who would report in more than a month early?

"There’s something else. Minister Yang wants me to help compose music for the military parade..."

"What?!"