The literary era since 1979

"Of course, you have many fans in the mainland, and I am no exception."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Can we go inside to talk?"

Funaki Minoru was overjoyed. Without waiting for Teresa Teng to speak, he raised his hand and enthusiastically invited Kurihara Komaki and others to the dressing room.

Everyone was walking and chatting, but they were talking about very simple topics, such as "Where was your hometown when you were a child?"

"My father is from northern Hebei, and my mother is from eastern Shandong. They often tell me that I am half eastern Shandong."

Teresa Teresa grinned, with dimples faintly visible on her cheeks.

Fangyan half-jokingly asked, "Miss Deng, what song are you going to sing today?"

Deng Lijun suppressed her smile and said in a Shandong accent, "Mr. Fang, I am going to sing the Japanese version of "Repayment", called "Atonement."

Fang Yan said: "I also heard this song a few days ago. It's very nice. No wonder it has stayed on the Oricon chart in Japan for so long."

"Mr. Fang, thank you for the compliment. My "Repayment" is defeated by your "Sunset Song" and "Love under the Sakura Tree"."

Teresa Teresa bowed slightly.

"This may be the difference in regional culture. For example, in China, there are not so many red tapes and people bow at every turn."

Fangyan waved his hand, "Japanese people love sunsets, cherry blossoms, and snow in their hearts, so they will more or less prefer "Sunset Song" and "Sakura Tree Love". If it were in China, maybe fans from both sides of the Taiwan Strait would like your "Repayment" more."

Funaki Minoru was amazed, the great writer was worthy of being a great writer, what he said made people feel so comfortable.

"I've also heard from people that there are many of my fans in mainland China."

Deng Lijun said: "But I also heard that some people call my songs 'yellow songs' and call me a 'yellow singer'..."

"What a coincidence! I've been told that, too. And my name is more famous than yours. I'm called the 'Yellow Leader.'"

Fangyan said this in a self-deprecating tone.

Deng Lijun was surprised and suspicious, "Yellow leader?"

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Didn't you see?"

Teresa Teng looked him up and down carefully. He looked very dignified and didn't look like the "yellow cult leader" at all.

"The nickname 'Yellow Cult Leader' is still a small one. Some people even call me 'literary demon' or 'literary scum'..."

Fangyan explained that he was given these nicknames because he firmly supported the development of popular culture such as literature and music.

"Mr. Fang, aren't you afraid, uh..."

Deng Liyun realized that what she was going to say next might be taboo, so she swallowed the words back when they came to her lips.

Fangyan said: "Baodao is an island, the fishing industry on the island must be very developed, right?"

Teresa Tang nodded with a smile, "There are so many delicious seafood!"

"Have you ever heard of this saying?" Fang Yan said confidently, "The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish!"

Deng Liyun's eyes flickered, and she became more and more curious about the man in front of her, and asked sincerely for a photo.

Fangyan politely refused: "I think it's better for us to sign autographs for each other, and forget about taking photos for now."

Deng Liyun's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Fang, are you afraid that taking a photo with me will affect you..."

"It's not so much that I'm afraid of you influencing me, but rather that I'm afraid of myself influencing you."

Fang Yan said, "I know an actor from Hong Kong. I don't know if Miss Deng has heard of him. His name is 'Liang Jiahui'. He is a very promising young man. A few years ago, he won the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards for his role in the movie 'The Burning of the Old Summer Palace'. But he was unreasonably banned."

Deng Lijun was startled, "I...I seem to have heard Qingxia mention it."

"Until now, he has not lifted the ban."

There was a hint of sarcasm in the dialect.

"Mr. Fang, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."

Teresa Tang lowered her head in shame, her cheeks slightly red.

Fangyan raised his hand disapprovingly, intentionally trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere:

"Ms. Deng, can you sign a few more autographs for me later?"

"what?"

Deng Liyun's face was full of confusion.

"Except for me, my whole family and the neighbors in my alley are all your fans."

Fangyan blinked his right eye playfully.

Deng Liyun pursed her lips, feeling a strange feeling. She was obviously older than him, but she felt like a little girl being teased.

Seeing Fangyan preparing to say goodbye and leave, Funaki Minoru said, "Mr. Fangyan, I wonder if we will have a chance to meet again in the future?" "Yes, but I won't stay in Japan for long this time."

Fangyan said that he would go to Otaru City in a few days to collect materials for his new work, and then return home.

Deng Liyun repeated "Otaru City" several times, and together with Funaki Minoru, she sent Fangyan and the other person out of the dressing room.

"Ms. Deng, do your best in the upcoming Red and White Song Contest."

Just as Fang Yan and Deng Lijun were saying goodbye, Keiko Matsuzaka stood not far away and gave them a resentful look.

But when Fangyan came towards him and cheered him up, his previous little emotions were immediately thrown behind him, and he smiled with his eyes curved and his eyes full of smiles.

The Red and White Songs Contest soon became popular and officially opened.

At the beginning of the show, the hosts of the red and white groups often appear on stage wearing traditional costumes based on the colors of their teams.

As the chief host in charge of the show, dressed in a suit, with the concerted efforts of the three, the singers from the red and white groups took turns to perform. It was not known whether NHK did it on purpose or accidentally assigned the two pairs of enemies, who were hyped as strong rivals this year, to opposite sides.

Akina Nakamori VS Seiko Matsuda, competing for who is the most popular idol singer in Showa!
Keiko Matsuzaka vs. Teresa Teresa, the grand finale between the top 1 and 2 singers in the Kanto and Kansai Cable Broadcast Awards!
The atmosphere was immediately brought to a climax, so heated that it seemed to be burning.

The camera slowly swept across the gorgeous stage where the singer was, and saw groups of enthusiastic cheering groups below the stage. Among them were elderly people with shining silver hair and bowls tied on their heads. They danced to the melody and cheered for the singer they supported to boost their morale.

Watching them cheering and shouting with full of passion, smacking their lips in dialect, it truly deserves to be the "birthplace of the idol industry."

The red group and the white group went back and forth, and their singing and applause intertwined into a moving symphony.

The audience's enthusiasm was completely ignited. They twisted and swayed their bodies to the rhythm of the music, witnessing this audio-visual feast together.

After a few hours, the Red and White Songs Festival came to an end with thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.

In the end, the white team consisting of Akina Nakamori and Keiko Matsuzaka defeated the red team consisting of Lijun Deng and Seiko Matsuda with a slight advantage.

The host read out the results of the singing competition with extremely precise timing:
"This year's Red and White Songs are truly very special. Songs can bring strength to people and unite people."

“I sincerely hope that next year will be a wonderful year where we can all laugh together. Happy New Year!”

The moment this speech was finished, the clock struck midnight, signaling the New Year's Eve.

Kurihara Komaki, like everyone else present, stood up and applauded, "Mr. Fangyan, what are your plans next?"

Fangyan was at a loss for a moment. He wanted to sleep but was not sleepy at all. He was still energetic and full of life.

Kurihara Komaki smiled and said, "Would you like to celebrate with us?"

After asking, Fangyan found out that Matsuzaka Keiko and Kurihara Komaki had an agreement that if the White Team they were in won, they would celebrate with a drink and would not go home until they were drunk.

So, he agreed without thinking, and after the Red and White Song Contest was over, he went to Kurihara Komaki's mansion with Matsuzaka Keiko.

Outside the house, brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky, dazzling, romantic and beautiful.

Inside the house, Fang Yan drank round after round under the baton of Kurihara Komaki and Matsuzaka Keiko. He was half drunk and half awake. He was dizzy and could faintly hear Matsuzaka Keiko asking:
"Mr. Fangyan, do you still remember the song "Airport" that I asked you to listen to?"

"certainly!"

"I didn't tell you anything, I just said to you,"

Occasionally, traveling alone is nice.
I stood at the boarding gate at the airport in the rain.

You who waved goodbye to me have gradually become blurred... blurred... blurred..."

Fangyan slapped his thighs and started to sing, but he was so drunk that his speech was a little slow.

Keiko Matsuzaka's eyes flickered as she helped Fangyan stand up, "Xiaojuan-chan, come and give me a hand."

Kurihara Komaki supported his other side and said in a low voice: "Keiko, have you really thought it through?"

"It's because I thought too much that I missed Fang Yanjun."

Keiko Matsuzaka said boldly under the influence of alcohol: "Anyway, the company won't allow me to get married, and they won't even allow me to make my relationship public!"

At this time, the lights in the house were off and the sky was very dark.

"boom!"

The mattress springs made a slight sound, which was gradually drowned out by the roaring fireworks outside the window.

"boom!"

"boom!"

Fangyan felt as if there were a hundred thousand firecrackers and thousands of fireworks buried in his body. From the moment they were ignited, they began to explode uncontrollably.

Nothing could extinguish it. From time to time, one or two stars pierced into the Milky Way or slipped into the darkness, with red or whitish tails of light, floating or stiff, falling straight down or sweeping sideways, and sometimes flickering and trembling, giving the darkness some flickering bursts.

The afterglow of the fireworks faded away, and the darkness seemed to shake a few times before closing in again.

The lazy and quiet stars returned to their original positions, smiling in the New Year. (End of this chapter)